'1    n 


73.  r. 

OP 

INQUIRY     Onr     I^ISSION^ 

AND  » 

THE   STATE   OF  RELIGION.    __^    . 

LIBRA.IIY 

or,  THE 

Theological    Seminary, 

PRINCETON,    N.J. 

S/teZ/, /cT'S  /     cg^ 

J5ooA;,  YJ.^rr'. Mo, 


i 


'   -^-^    - 


^ 


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\ 


y 


iikk. 


POLITICAL  ESSAY 


ON    THE 


KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN. 


CONTAINING 


Researches  relative  to  the  Geo- 
graphy of  Mexico,  the  Extent 
of  its  Surface  and  its  political 
Division  into  Intentlancies,  the 
physical  Aspect  of  the  Coun- 
try, the  Population,  the  State 
of  Agriculture  and  Manufac- 
turing and  Commcicial  Indus- 
try, the   Canals  piojectcd  be- 


tween the  South  Sea  and  At- 
lantic Ocean,  the  Crown  lic- 
venues,  the  Quantity  of  the 
precious  Metals  which  have 
flowed  from  Mexico  into  Eu- 
rope and  Asia,  since  the  Dis- 
covery of  tlie  New  Continent, 
and  the  Military  Defence  of 
New  Spain. 


^, 


BY  ALEXANDER   DE  HUMBOLDT. 


WITH 

PHYSICAL  SECTIONS  AND  MAPS, 

FOUNDED    ON    ASTRONOMICAL    OBSERVATIONS,    AND 
TRIGONOMETRICAL    AND    BAROMETRICAL 

MEASUREMENTS. 

TRANSLATED  FROM   THE   ORIGINAL  FRENCH, 

BY  JOHN  BLACK. 

VOL.  II. 


.XEU'-YOTiK- 
Printed  and  published  by  I.  Riley. 


ISll. 


STATISTICAL  ANALYSIS 

OF 
THE  KINGDOM  OF 

NEW   SPAIN 


Territorial  extent:  118,478  square  leagues,*  (2,339,400  my- 
riares.) 

Population  :  5,837,100  inhabitants, 

or  49  inhabitants  per  square  league,  (2  1-2  per  myriare.) 


Of  25  to  the  degree.     Trnnn. 


I'OLITICAL  ESSAY,  Sec. 


New  SpAihf  comprehends 

A.  Mexico  Profier  {el  Reyno  de  Mexico.') 

Territorial   extent:    51,280  square   leagues,  (or 

1,015,640  myi-iares.) 
Population:  5,413,900  inhabitants, 

or  105  inhabitants  per  square  league. 

B.  Las  provincias  internas  orientales  y  occidentales. 

Territorial    extent :    59,375    square  leagues,  (or 
1,323,760  myriares.) 

Population  :  357,200  inhabitants, 

or  6  inhabitants  to  the  square  league. 


NEW  SPAIN. 


STATISTICAL 
ANALYSIS. 

Population 

in 

1803. 

Extent  of 
Surface  in 

square 
Leagues. 

No.  of  Inhabit- 

ants  to  the 
square  League. 

I.  Intendancy  of 
Mexico. 

1,511,800 

5,927 

255 

THE  whole  of  this  intendancy  is  situated  under 
the  torrid  zone.  It  extends  from  the  16°  34'  to  the 
21°  57'  of  north  latitude.  It  is  bounded  on  the  north 
by  the  intendancy  of  San  Luis  Potosi,  on  the  west 
by  the  intendancies  of  Guanaxuato  and  Valladolid, 
and  on  the  east  by  those  of  Vera  Cruz  and  La  Pue- 
bla.  It  is  washed  towards  the  south  by  the  South 
Sea,  or  Great  Ocean,  for  a  length  of  coast  of  82 
leagues  from  Acapulco  to  Zacatula. 

Its  greatest  length  from  Zacatula  to  the  mines  of  the 
Doctor*  is  136  leagues ;  and  its  greatest  breadth  from 

•  The  extreme  points  are  properly  situated  to  the  south-east 
of  Acapulco,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Nespa,  and  to  the 
north  of  the  Real  del  Doctor,  near  the  city  of  Valles,  which 
belongs  to  the  intendancy  of  San  Luis  Potosi.  Places  of  note 
being  seldom  situated  on  the  very  boundaries,  we  have  pre- 
ferred naming  those  which  are  nearest  to  them.    A  glance 


5  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  in. 

^ANALYSIS^^]!-  Inteiidancy  of  Mexico. 

Zacatula  to  the  mountains  situated  to  the  east  of 
Chilpansingo,  is  92  leagues.  In  its  northern  part,  to- 
wards the  celebrated  mines  of  Zimapan  and  the  Doc- 
tor, it  is  separated  by  a  narrow  stripe  from  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico.  Near  Mextitlan,  this  stripe  is  only  nine 
leagues  in  breadth. 

More  than  two  thirds  of  the  intendancy  of  Mexico 
are  mountainous,  in  which  there  are  immense  plains, 
elevated  from  2,000*  to  2,300t  metres  above  the  level 
of  the  ocean.  From  Chalco  to  Queretaro  are  al- 
most uninterrupted  plains  of  fifty  leagues  in  length, 
and  eight  or  ten  in  breadth.  In  the  neighbourhood 
of  the  western  coast,  the  climate  is  burning  and  very 
unhealthy.  One  summit  only,  the  Nevado  de  To- 
luca,  situated  in  a  fertile  plain  of  2,700  metres^  in 
height,  enters  the  region  of  perpetual  snow.  Yet 
the  porphyritical  summit  of  this  old  volcano,  whose 
form  bears  a  strong  resemblance  to  that  of  Pichincha 
near  Quito,  and  which  appears  to  have  been  former- 
ly extremely  elevated,  is  uncovered  with  snow  in  the 
rainy  months  of  September  and  October.  The  ele- 
vation of  the  Pico  del  Fraile,  or  the  highest  summit 
of  the  Nevado  de  Toluca,  is  4,620  metres^  (2,370 
toises.)  No  mountain  in  this  intendancy  equals  the 
height  of  Mount  Blanc. 

The  valley  of  Mexico,  or  Tenochtitlan,  of  which 
I  publish  a  very  minute  map,  is  situated  in  the  cen- 
tre of  the  Cordillera  of  Anahuac,  on  the  ridge  of 

bestowed  on  my  general  map  of  New  Spain  will  serve  tojvis- 
tity  this  mode  of  indicating  the  boundaries  of  the  intcnd- 
ancies. 

*  6,561  feet.    Trayis.  f  7,545  feet.     Trans. 

t  8,857  feet.      Trans.  §  15,156  feet.     Trails. 


1 


CHAP.  VIII.]  KINGDOM  OF  NFAV  SPAFN.  7 

STATISTICAL 7  t     r  .       7  r  Ti/r      ' 

ANALYSIS,    s  ^'  Intenaancy  of  Mexico. 

the  porph}Titical  and  basaltic  amygdaloid  mountains, 
which  run  from  the  S.S.E.  to  the  N.N.W.  This 
valley  is  of  an  oval  form.  According  to  my  obser- 
vations, and  those  of  a  distinguished  mineralogist,  M. 
Don  Luis  Martin,  it  contains  from  the  entry  of  the 
Rio  Tenango  into  the  lake  of  Chalco,  to  the  foot  of 
the  Cerrode  Sincoque,  near  the  Dcsague  Real  of  Hue- 
huetoca  18 1-^  leagues  in  length,  and  from  S.  Gabriel, 
near  the  small  town  of  Tezcuco,  to  the  sources  of 
the  Rio  de  Escapusalco,  near  Guisquiluca,  12 1-2 
leagues  in  breadth.*  The  territorial  extent  of  the 
valley  is  244  1-2  square  leagues,  of  which  only  22  square 
leagues  are  occupied  by  the  lakes,  which  is  less  than  a 
tenth  of  the  whole  surface. 

The  circumference  of  the  valley,  reckoning  from 
the  crest  of  the  mountains  which  surround  it  like  a 
circular  wall,  is  67  leagues.  This  crest  is  most  ele- 
vated on  the  south,  particularly  on  the  south-east, 
W'here  the  great  volcanoes  of  La  Puebla,  the  Popo- 
catepetl and  Iztaccihuatl,  bound  the  valley.  One  of 
the  roads  which  lead  from  the  valley  of  Tenochtit- 
lan  to  that  of  Cholula  and  La  Puebla  passes  even 
between  the  two  volcanoes,  by  Tlamanalco,  Ameca, 
La  Cumbre,  and  La  Cruz  del  Coreo.  The  small 
army  of  Cortez  passed  by  this  road  on  his  first  in- 
vasion. 

Six  great  roads  cross  the  Cordillera  which  encloses 
the  valley,  of  which  the  medium  height  is  3,000  me- 

*  The  maps  of  the  valley  of  Mexico  hitherto  published  arc 
so  false,  that  in  that  of  M.  Mascaro,  annually  repeated  in  the 
almanack  of  Mexico,  that  the  above  distances  are  25  and  17 
instead  of  18  and  12  leagues.  It  is  from  this  map  undoubt- 
edly that  the  archbishop  Lorenzana  gives  the  whole  valley  a 
circumference  of  more  than  90  leagues,  while  the  amount  is 
almost  one-third  less. 


g  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  fsooK  m. 

STATISTICAL-}  t    r  *     ^  z'  n/r 

ANALYSIS.    5  *•  ■intenaatwy  of  Mexico, 

tres*  above  the  level  of  the  ocean.  1.  The  road  from 
Acapulco  to  Guchilaqiie  and  Cuervaracca  by  the  high 
summit  called  la  Cruz  del  Marques ;t  2.  The  road  of 
Toluca  by  Tianguillo  and  Lerma,  a  magnificent  cau- 
sey, which  I  could  not  sufficiently  admire,  construct- 
ed' with  great  art,  partly  over  arches  ;  3.  The  road  of 
Queretaro,  Guanaxuato,  and  Durango  el  camino  de 
tierra  adentro,  which  passes  by  Guautitlan,  Huehue- 
toca,  and  the  Puerto  de  Reyes,  near  Bata,  through 
hills  scarcely  80  metresj  above  the  pavement  of  the 
great  square  {place)  of  Mexico  ;  4.  The  road  of  Pa- 
chuco,  which  leads  to  the  celebrated  mines  of  Real 
del  Monte,  by  the  Cerro  Ventoso,  covered  with  oak, 
cypress,  and  rose  trees,  almost  continually  in  flow- 
er ;  5.  The  old  road  of  La  Puebla,  by  S.  Bonaventura 
and  the  Llanos  de  Apan ;  and,  6.  The  new  road  of 
La  Puebla  by  Rio  Frio  and  Tesmelucos,  south-east 
from  the  Cerro  del  Telapon,  of  which  the  distance 
from  the  Sierra  Nevada,  as  well  as  that  from  the 
Sierra  Nevada  (Iztaccihuatl)  to  the  great  volcano, 
(Popocatepetl,)  served  for  bases  to  the  trigonometri- 
cal operations  of  MM.  Velasquez  and  Costanzo. 

From  being  long  accustomed  to  hear  the  capital 
of  Mexico  spoken  of  as  a  city  built  in  the  midst  of  a 
lake,  and  connected  with  the  continent  merely  by 
dikes,  those  who  look  at  my  map  will  be  no  doubt 

*  9,842  feet.     Trans. 

\  It  was  a  military  position  in  the  time  of  the  conquest. 
When  the  inhabitants  of  New  Spain  pronoiince  the  word  el 
Marques.,  without  adding  a  family  name,  the  name  ofHcrnan 
Cortes,  Marques  de  el  Valle  de  Oaxaca,  is  understood.  In  the 
same  way,  cl  Almirante  designates,  in  Spanish  America, 
Christopher  Columbus.  This  naive  manner  of  expressing 
themselves  proves  the  respect  and  admiration  which  thev 
preserve  for  the  memory  of  these  groat  inen. 

\  262  feet.     Tram. 


cHAf.viii]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  9 

^AnYlysPs!^   ll-  Intendancy  of  Mexico. 

astonished  on  seeing  that  the  centre  of  the  present 
city  is  4,500  metres*  distance  from  the  lake  of  Tcz- 
cuco,  and  more  that  9,000t  from  the  lake  of  Chalco. 
They  will  be  inclined,  therefore,  either  to  doubt  the 
accuracy  of  the  descriptions  in  the  history  of  the 
discoveries  of  the  new  world,  or  they  will  believe 
that  the  capital  of  Mexico  does  not  stand  on  the 
same  ground  with  the  old  residence  of  Montezuma  :f 
but  the  city  has  certainly  not  changed  its  place,  for 
the  cathedral  of  Mexico  occupies  exactly  the  ground 
where  the  temple  of  Huitzilopochtli  stood,  and  the 
present  street  of  Tacuba  is  the  old  street  of  Tlacopan, 
tlirough  which  Cortez  made  his  famous  retreat  in  the 
melancholy  night  of  the  1st  of  July,  1520,  which 
goes  by  the  name  of  JVoche  triste.  The  difference 
of  situation  between  the  old  maps  and  those  published 
by  me  arises  solely  from  the  diminution  of  water  of 
the  lake  of  Tezcuco. 

It  may  be  useful  in  this  place  to  lay  before  the 
readers  a  passage  from  a  letter  addressed^  by  Cortez 
to  the  Emperor  Charles  the  Fifth,  dated  30th  Octo- 
ber, 1520,  in  which  he  gives  the  description  of  the 
valley  of  Mexico.  This  passage  written  with  great 
simplicity  of  style,  gives  us  at  the  same  time  a  very 
good  idea  of  the  sort  of  police  which  prevailed  in  the 
old  Tenochtitlan.     "  The  province  in  which  the  re- 

*  14,763  feet.      Trans.  f  29,527  feet.     Trana. 

\  The  true  Mexican  name  of  this  king  is  Motmczoma. 
There  arc  two  kings  of  the  name  in  the  genealogy  of  the 
Aztec  sultans.  The  first  was  called  Huehue  Moreuczoma, 
and  the  second  who  died  prisoner  of  Cortez  Moteuczoma 
Xocojotzin.  The  adjectives  before  and  after  the  proper  name 
signify  older  and  younger. 

§  Lorenzana. 

VOL.  ir.  « 


jQ  ruLlTICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  nr, 

ANALYSIS,    i  ^'  Intendancy  of  Mexico. 

sidence  of  this  great  lord  Muteczuma  is  situated," 
says  Cortez,  "  is  circularly  surrounded  with  elevated 
mountains,  and  intersected  with  precipices.  The 
plain  contains  near  70  leagues  in  circumference,  and 
in  this  plain  are  two  lakes  which  fill  nearly  the  whole 
valley  ;  for  the  inhabitants  sail  in  canoes  for  more 
than  50  leagues  round."  (We  must  observe  that 
the  general  speakes  only  of  two  lakes,  because  he 
knew  but  imperfectly  those  of  Zumpango  and  Xalto- 
can,  between  which  he  hastily  passed  in  his  flight 
from  Mexico  to  Tlascala,  before  the  battle  of  Otum- 
ba.)  "  Of  the  two  great  lakes  of  the  valley  of  Mexi- 
co, the  one  is  fresh  and  the  other  salt  water.  They 
are  separated  by  a  small  range  of  mountains  ;  (the 
conical  and  insulated  hills  near  Iztapalapan ;)  these 
mountains  rise  in  the  middle  of  the  plain,  and  the 
waters  of  the  lakes  mingle  together  in  a  strait  between 
the  hills  and  the  high  Cordillera,  (undoubtedly  the 
eastern  declivity  of  Cerros  de  Santa  Fe.)  The  nu- 
merous towns  and  villages  constructed  in  both  of  the 
two  lakes  carry  on  their  commerce  by  canoes,  with- 
out touching  the  coiHtinent.  The  great  city  of  Te- 
mixtitan*  (Tenochtitlan)  is  situated  in  the  midst  of 
the  salt-water  lake,  which  has  its  tides  like  the  sea ; 
and  from  the  city  to  the  continent  there  are  two  leagues 
whichever  way  we  wish  to  enter.  Four  dikes  lead  to 
the  city  :  they  are  made  by  the  hand  of  man,  and  are 
of  the  breadth  of  two  lances.  The  city  is  as  large 
as    Seville    or    Cordova.     The    streets,    I    merely 


*  262  feet.      Trans. 

t  Tcniistitan,  Temixiitaii,  Tctioxtitlan,  Tcniihiitlan,  are 
all  vitious  alterations  of  the  true  nunVc  of  Tenochtitlan.  The 
Aztecs,  or  Mexicans,  called  tlieni.selves  also  Tciiocfujues^ivom 
whence  tlie  denomination  of  Tenocluitlan  is  derived. 


Chap,  vm.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  W 

TATISTICA 
ANALYSIS. 


STATISTICAL  7  T     t^     j  rM 

J    ^1.  Intendancy  oj  Mexico, 


speak  of  the  principal  ones,  are  very  narrow  and  very 
large ;  some  are  half  dry  and  half  occupied  by  na- 
vigable canals,  furnished  widi  very  well  constructed 
wooden  bridges,  broad  enough  for  ten  men  on  horse- 
back to  pass  at  the  same  time.  The  market-place, 
twice  as  large  as  that  of  Seville,,  is  surrounded  with 
an  immense  portico,  under  which  are  exposed  for 
sale  all  sorts  of  merchandise,  eatables,  ornaments 
made  of  gold,  silver,  lead,  pewter,  precious  stones, 
bones;  shells,  and  feathers ;  delft  ware,  leather,  and 
spun  cotton.  We  find  hewn  stone,  tiles,  and  timber 
lit  for  building.  There  are  lanes  for  game,  others, 
for  roots  and  garden  fruits  :  there  are  houses  Avhere 
barbers  shave  the  head,  (with  razors  made  of  obsidian, 
and  there  are  houses  resembling  our  apothecary  shops, 
where  prepared  medicines,  unguents,  and  plasters 
are  sold.  There  are  houses  wliere  drink  is  sold. 
The  market  abounds  with  so  many  things,  that  1 
am  unable  to  name  them  all  to  your  highness.  To 
avoid  confusion,  evcrj^  species  of  merchandise  is 
sold  in  a  separate  lane  ;  every  thing  is  sold  by  the 
yard,  but  nothing  has  hitherto  been  seen  to  be  weigh- 
ed in  the  market.  In  the  midst  of  the  great  square 
is  a  house  which  1  shall  call  Paudiencia,  in  which  ten 
or  twelve  persons  sit  constaiitly  for  determining  any 
disputes  which  may  arise  respecting  the  sale  of  goods. 
There  are  other  persons  who  mix  continually  with 
the  crowd,  to  see  that  a  just  price  is  asked.  AVe 
have  seen  them  break  the  false  measures  which  they 
had  seized  from  the  merchants." 

Such  was  the  state  of  Tenochtitlan  in  1520,  ac- 
cording to  the  description  of  Cortez  himself.  I  have 
sought  in  vain  in  the  archives  of  his  family,  pre- 
served at  Mexico  in  the  Casa  del  Estado,  for  the 
plan  which  this  great  captain  ordered  to  be  drawn  up 


12  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  in. 

STATISTICAL7  r     T  *^  .1  riK/r     • 

ANALYSIS.    5  ^'  ^ntendancy  oj  Mexico, 

of  the  environs  of  the  capital,  and  which  he  sent  to 
the  emperor,  as  he  says,  in  his  third  letter  pubUshed 
b)^  Cardinal  Lorenzana.  The  Abbe  Clavigero  has 
ventured  to  give  a  plan  of  the  lake  of  Tezcuco,  such 
as  he  supposes  it  to  have  been  in  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury. This  sketch  is  very  inaccurate,  though  much 
preferable  to  that  given  by  Robertson,  and  other  Eu- 
ropean authors  equally  unskilled  in  the  geography  of 
Mexico.  I  have  drawn  on  the  map  of  the  valley  of 
Tenochtidan,  the  old  extent  of  the  salt-water  lake, 
such  as  I  conceived  it  from  the  historical  account  of 
Cortez  and  some  of  his  contemporaries.  In  1520, 
and  long  after,  the  villages  of  Iztapalapan,  Coyohu- 
acan,  (improperly  called  Cuyacan,)  Tacubaja,  and 
Tacuba,  were  quite  near  the  banks  of  the  Lake  of 
Tezcuco.  Cortez  says,  expressly,*  that  the  most 
part  of  the  houses  of  Coyohuacan,  Culuacan,  Chu- 
lubuzco,  Mexicaltzingo,  Iztapalapan,  Cuitaguaca, 
and  Mizqueque,  were  built  in  the  water  on  piles,  so 
that  frequently  the  canoes  could  enter  by  an  under 
door.  The  small  hill  of  Chapoltcpec,  on  which  the 
viceroy  Count  Galvez  constructed  a  castle,  was  no 
longer  an  island  in  the  lake  of  Tezcuco  in  the  time 
of  Cortez.  On  this  side,  the  continent  approached 
to  within  about  3,000  metresf  of  the  city  of  Te- 
nochtitlan,  consequently  the  distance  of  two  leagues 
indicated  by  Cortez,  in  his  letter  to  Charles  V.  is  not 
altogether  accurate  :  he  ought  to  have  retrenched  the 
one  half  of  this,  excepting,  however,  the  part  of 
the  western  side  at  the  small  porph\  ritical  hill  of 
Chapoltepec.  Wc  may  well  belie^'e,  however,  that 
this  hill  was,    some    centuries  before,  also  a  small 

*  Lorenzana,  p.  229.  195.  lOiJ. 
t  9,842  feet.      Tram. 


CHAP,  vm]  KINGDOM  OF  NFAV  SPAIN.  J3 


STA 

ANA! 


f  ALYSIS.    i  ^*  Intendancy  of  Mexico. 


island,  like  the  Penal  del  Marques,  or  the  Penal  de 
los  Banos.  It  appears  extremely  probable,  from  geo- 
logical observations,  that  the  lakes  had  been  on 
the  decrease  long  before  the  arri\'al  of  the  Spaniards, 
and  before  the  construction  of  the  canal  of  Huehue- 
toca. 

The  Aztecs  or  Mexicans,  before  founding  on  a 
group  of  islands,  in  1325,  the  capital  which  yet 
subsists,  had  already  inhabited  for  fifty-two  years  an- 
other part  of  the  lake  farther  to  the  south,  of  which 
the  Indians  could  never  point  out  to  me  the  site. 
The  Mexicans  left  Aztlan  towards  the  vear  1 160,  and 
only  arrived,  after  a  migration  of  56  years,  in  the 
valley  of  Tenochtitlan,  by  Malinalco,  in  the  Cor- 
dillera of  Toluca,  and  by  Tula.  They  established 
themselves  first  at  Zumpango,  then  on  the  southern 
declivity  of  the  mountains  of  Tepeyac,  where  the 
magnificent  temple,  dedicated  to  our  lady  of  Gua- 
daloupe,  is  situated.  In  the  year  1245,  (according 
to  the  chronology  of  the  Abbe  Clavigero,)  they  ar- 
rived at  Chapoltepec.  Harassed  by  the  petty  princes 
of  Zaltocan,  whom  the  Spanish  historians  honour 
with  the  title  of  kings,  the  Aztecs,  to  preserve  their 
independence,  withdrew  to  a  group  of  small  islands 
called  Acocolco,  situated  towards  the  southern  ex- 
tremity of  the  lake  of  Tezcuco.  There  they  lived 
for  half  a  century  in  great  want,  compelled  to  feed 
on  roots  of  aquatic  plants,  insects,  and  a  problema- 
tical reptile  called  axolotl,  which  Mr.  Cuvier  looks 
upon  to  be  the  nympha  of  an  unknown  salamander.* 

*  M.  Cuvier  has  described  in  my  Recueil  d' Observations 
Zodlogiques  et  d'jinatome  com/iaree,  p.  119.  M.  Dumeril  be- 
lieves that  the  axolotl,  of  which  M.  Bonpland  and  myself  have 
brought  individuals  in  good  preservation,  is  a  new  species  of 
proteus.     Zoblo^e  Analijtique^  p.  9S. 


14  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  hi. 

ANALYSIS,    s  ^'  Intendancy  of  Mexico. 

Having  been  reduced  to  slavery  by  the  kings  of  Tez- 
cuco  or  Acolhuacan,  the  Mexicans  were  forced  to 
abandon  theii-  village  in  the  midst  of  the  lake,  and  to 
take  refuge  on  the  continent  at  Tizapan.  The  ser- 
vices which  they  rendered  to  their  masters  in  a  war 
against  the  inhabitants  of  Xochimilco  again  procured 
them  liberty.  They  established  themselves  first  at 
Acatzitzirulan,  which  tliey  called  Mexicalzingo,  from 
the  name  of  MexiUi,  or  Huitzilopochtli,*  their  god 
of  war,  and  next  at  Iztacalco.  They  removed  from 
Iztacalco  to  the  little  islands  which  then  appeared  to 
the  E.N.E.  of  the  hill  of  Chapoltepec,  in  the  western 
part  of  the  lake  of  Tezcuco,  in  obedience  to  an 
order  of  the  oracle  of  Aztian.  An  ancient  tradition 
w^s  preserved  among  this  horde,  that  the  fatal  term 
of  their  migration  was  to  be  a  place  where  they 
should  find  an  eagle  sitting  on  the  top  of  a  nopal,  of 
which  the  roots  penetrated  the  crevices  of  a  rock. 
This  nopal,  (cactus,)  alluded,  to  in  the  oracle,  was  seen 
by  the  Aztecs  in  the  year  1325,  which  is  the  second 
Calli\  of  the  Mexican  aera,  on  a  small  island,  which 
served  for  foundation  to  the  Teocalli,  or  Teopan,  z.  e. 


*  Huitzlin  mean^  hnmmint^-bh'd  ;  and  opochtli  means  left  ; 
for  the  god  was  painted  with  humming  bird's  feathers  under 
the  left  foot.  The  Europeans  have  corrupted  the  word  huit- 
zilopochtli  into  huiciiilobos,  and  vizlipuzli.  The  brotlier  of 
this  god,  who  was  much  revered  by  the  inhabitants  of  Tezcu- 
co, was  called  Tlaca-huepan-Cuexcotzin. 

t  As  the  first  .icai/ corresponds  to  the  year  1519,  the  sccovd 
Calli.,  in  the  first  half  of  the  fourteenth  century,  can  only  be 
the  year  1325,  and  not  the  years  1324,  1327,  and  1341,  which 
the  translator  of  the  Raccolta  di  Aftndoza,  as  well  as  Si- 
guenza,  cited  by  Boturini,  and  Betcncourt,  cited  by  Torquc- 
mada,  allege  to  have  been  the  date  of  the  foundation  of  Mexi- 
co. See  the  chronological  dissertation  of  the  Abbe  Chu'igcro, 
Storie  di  Messico^  T.  IV.  p.  54. 


1 


CHAP,  vjii]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  15 

STATISTICAL  7  T     j^      ,  '/-  i\r 

ANALYSIS.    5  1-  Intendancij  of  Mexico. 

the  house  of  God,  afterwards  called  by  the  Spaniards 
the  Great  Temple  of  Mexidi. 

The  first  TeocuUi^  around  which  the  new  city  was 
built,  was  of  wood,  like  the  most  ancient  Grecian 
temple,  that  of  Apollo  at  Delphi,  described  by  Pau- 
sanias.  The  stone  edifice,  of  which  Coitez  and 
Bernal  Diaz  admired  the  symmetry,  was  constructed 
on  the  same  spot  by  King  Ahuitzotl,  in  the  year 
1486.  It  was  a  pyramidal  monument  of  37metrps* 
in  height,  situated  in  the  middle  of  a  vast  enclosure 
of  walls,  and  consisted  of  five  stories,  like  several 
pyramids  of  Sacara,  and  particularly  that  of  Alehe- 
dun.  The  Teocalli  of  Tenochtitlan,  very  accurately 
laid  out,  like  all  the  Egyptian,  Asiatic,  and  Mexi- 
can pyramids,  contained  97  metresf  of  base,  and 
formed  so  truncated  a  pyramid,  that  when  seen  from 
a  distance  the  monument  appeared  an  enormous  cube, 
with  small  altars,  covered  with  wooden  cupolas  011 
the  top.  The  point  where  these  cupolas  terminated 
was  54  metres  elevated  above  the  base  of  the  edifice 
or  the  pavement  of  the  enclosure. J  We  may  see 
from  these  details,  that  the  Teocalli  bore  a  strong  re- 
semblance in  form  to  the  ancient  monument  of  Ba- 
bylon, called  by  Strabo  the  Mausoleum  of  Belus, 
which  was  only  a  pyramid  dedicated  to  Jupiter  Be- 
lus.^ Neither  the  Teocalli  nor  the  Babylonian  edi- 
fice were  temples  in  the  sense  which  we  attach  to  the 
word,  according  to  the  ideas  derived  by  us  from  the 
Greeks  and  Romans.  All  edifices  consecrated  to 
Mexican  divinities  formed  truncated  pyramids.  The 
great  monuments  of  Teotihuacan,  Cholula,  and  Pa- 
pantla,  still  in  preservation,  confirm  this  idea,  and 

*  121  feet.     Trans,  f  318  feet.     Trans. 

i  177  feet.      Trans.  §  Zoega  de  Obeliscis,  p.  50. 


IQ  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  hi. 

^A^\\LYS^s^^}^-  Intendancy  of  Mexico, 

indicate  what  the  more  inconsiderable  temples  were  in 
the  cities  of  Tenochtitlau  and  Tezcuco.  Covered 
altars  were  placed  on  the  top  of  the  Teocallis  ;  and 
these  edifices  must  hence  be  classed  with  tlie  pyra- 
midal monuments  of  Asia,  of  which  traces  were  an- 
ciently found  even  in  Arcadia  ;  for  the  conical  mau- 
soleum of  Callistus*  was  a  true  tumulus^  covered  with 
fruit  trees,  and  served  for  base  to  a  small  temple  con- 
secrated to  Diana. 

We  know  not  of  what  materials  tlie  Teocalli  of 
Tenochtitlau  was  constructed.  The  historians  mere- 
ly relate,  that  it  was  covered  with  a  hard  and  smooth 
stone.  The  enormous  fragments  which  are  from  time 
to  time  discovered  around  the  present  cathedral  are  of 
porphyry,  with  a  base  of  grdnstein  filled  with  amphi- 
bolos  and  vitreous  feld-spath.  When  the  square 
round  the  cathedral  was  recently  paved,  carved  stones 
were  found  at  a  depth  of  ten  and  twelve  metres. t 
Few  nations  have  moved  such  great  masses  as  were 
moved  by  the  Mexicans.  The  calendar  stone  and 
the  sacrifice  stone,  exposed  to  public  view  in  the 
Great  Square,  contain  from  eight  to  ten  cubic  me- 
tres.J  The  colossal  statue  of  Teoyaomiqui,  covered 
with  hieroglyphics,  lying  in  one  of  tlie  vestibules  of 
the  university,  is  ^  metres  in  length  and  three 
in  breadth.  II  M.  Gamboa,  one  of  the  canons,  as- 
sured me,  that  on  digging  opposite  the  chapel  of  the 
Sagrario,  a  carved  rock   was  foimd  among  an  im- 

*  Pausanias,  lib.  vlii.  c.  35.  t  32  and  38  fett.     Trun.i. 

\  From  282  to  353  cubic  feet.      Trans. 

§  The  number  of  the   original  here,  3,    is  evidently   erro- 
neous.    Trans. 

119  4-5  fett.      Trans. 


CHAP,  viii.]    KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  17 

^YJiLYSf  1  J-  Intcndancy  of  Mexico. 

mcnse  quantity  of  idols  belongiiip:  to  the  Tcocalli, 
which  was  s:c\en  metres  in  length,  six  ip.  brt adlh,  and 
three  i]ihei2:ht.*  TIkv  endeiuoured  in  vain  to  re- 
move  It. 

The  Tcocalli  wiis  in  I'liinst  a  feu'  years  after  the 
siege  of  Tenochtitlan,  which  liice  tliat  of  Troy,  end- 
ed in  an  almost  entire  destruction  of  the  city,  i  am 
therefore  inclined  to  believe  tliat  the  exterior  of  the 
truncated  pyramid  \vas  clay,  covered  with  porous 
amygdaloid  called  tetzontli.  In  fact,  a  short  time 
before  the  construction  of  the  temple  under  the  reign 
of  King  Ahuitzotl,  the  quarries  of  this  cellular  and 
spongy  rock  began  to  be  worked.  Now  nothing 
could  be  easier  destroyed  than  edifices  constructed 
of  porous  and  light  materials,  like  pumice-stone. 
Notwithstanding  the  coincidence^   of  a  great  num- 

*  22  r-S,  19  3-5,  r.r.d  9  4-5  feet.     Tfnnr,. 

t  One  of  the  oldest  and  most  valuable  inanuscnpt^  pre- 
served at  ^Mexico  is  the  Book  of  the  Municipality,  (Lihro  del 
Cabildo.)  Father  Pichardo,  a  respectable  nlif^ioso  in  the  con- 
vent of  San  Felipe  Ncri,  well  versed  in  the  history  of  his 
country,  showed  mc  tliis  manuscript,  which  wusbet^iin  on  the 
3th  March,  1-524,  tiuee  years  after  the  siep^e.  It  speaks  of 
the  square  where  the  great  temple  stood,  (Ja  JUuza  adondc 
cstaba  el  tcinpdo  major. ^ 

\  If  those  who  have  left  us  descriptions  and  plans  of  the 
Teocalli,  instead  of  i-ncasuriin^  it  thcn.r.elves,  have  merely 
related  what  they  were  told  by  the  Indians,  this  coincidence 
proves  less  than  mii^ht  at  first  be  believed.  There  are  uni- 
form traditions  in  every  country  as  to  the  size  of  edifices,  the 
height  of  towers,  the  breadth  of  craters,  and  the  descent  of 
cataracts.  National  pride  delights  to  exaggerate  these  di- 
mensions, and  travellers  agree  in  their  accounts  so  long  as 
they  draw  from  the  same  source.  However,  in  this  particu- 
lar case  the  exaggeration  of  the  height  was  not  prob;J)ly  very 
great,  because  it  was  easy  to  judge  of  the  clevaiion  of  t!je 
monument  from  the  number  of  its  stc])s. — Juthor. 

So  far  from  a  coincidence  in  the  acoiTp.tS;  it  v/ould  appear 
VOL.11.  C 


1^  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  ii^. 

^Ynalysis.^]^-  Intendancij  of  Mexico. 

ber  of  accounts,  it  is  not  impossible  that  the  dimen- 
sions attributed  to  the  Teocalli  are  somewhat  exagge- 
rated ;  but  the  pyramidal  form  of  this  Mexican  edi- 
fice, and  its  great  analogy  to  the  most  ancient  monu- 
ments of  Asia  ought  to  interest  us  miich  more  than 
its  mass  and  size. 

The  old  city  of  Mexico  communicated  with  the 
continent  by  the  three  great  dikes  of  Tepejacac, 
(Guadalupe,)  Tlacopan,  (Tacuba,)  and  Iztapalapan. 
Cortez  mentions  four  dikes,  because  he  reckoned,, 
without  doubt,   the  causey  which  led  to    Chapolte- 

from  the  Abbe  Clavigero,  whose  zeal  for  the  ancient  honours 
of  his  countrj'  certainly  "by  no  means  predisposed  him  to  scep- 
ticism on  such  a  subject,  that  there  is  almost  no  possibility  of 
combining  the  different  descriptions,  or  of  ascertaining  the 
dimensions  from  them.  "  Voremmo,  che  fosse  stata  altretanta 
3a  loro  esatezza  nelle  misure,  che  ci  lasciarono,  quanto  fu  il 
loro  zelo  nel  distruggcre  quel  sup.erbo  monurriento  della  su- 
perstizione  ;  "ina  e  si  grande  la  varieta  con  cui  scrissero^  che 
dopo  aver  faticato  nel  combinare  le  lor  descnzioni,?2on  ho  fio- 
tuto  certificarmi  delle  misure^  ne  avrei  mai  potuto  formare  idea 
deir  architettura  di  questo  tempio,  se  non  fosse  stato  per  Tim- 
^■nagine,  che  ci  presenta  agli  occhi  il  conquistatore  anonimo 
la  cui  copia  noi  diamo  qui,  benche  nelle  misure  ci  conformia- 
xno  piu  colla  sua  relazione,  che  colla  imagine." — {Storia  de 
Messico,  vol.  ii..  p.  26.) This  temple,  of  Avhich  the  de- 
scriptions so  much  puzzled  M.  Clavigero,  but  which  he  ven- 
tures however  to  style  iin  sufierbo  monumento  della  sufiersti- 
zione,  does  not  seem  to  have  impressed  Robertson  with  a 
very  high  idea  of  Mexican  ingenuity.  "  As  far  as  one  can 
gather,"  he  says,  "from  their  (the  Spanish  accounts)  obscure 
and  inaccurate  descriptions,  the  great  temple  of  Mexico,  the 
most  famous  of  New  Spain,  was  a  solid  mass  of  earth  of  a 
square  form,  faced  partly  with  stone.  Such  structures  con- 
vey no  high  idea  of  progress  in  art  and  ingenuity;  and  one 
can  hardly  conceive  that  a  form  more  rude  and  simple  could 
have  occurred  to  a  nation  in  its  first  efforts  towards  erecting 
any  great  work."  (^Robertson's  America,  vol.  iii.  p.  317} 
Trans, 


-nAp.vnr.]      KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN..  ig 

STATISTICAL 7  t      r  .      /  r  ,\r        Tir 

ANALYSIS.    '  *•  Jntendancy  oj  Nexv  Mexico. 

pec.  The  Calzada  of  Iztapalapan  had  a  branch 
which  united  Coyohuacan  to  the  small  fort  Xaloc, 
the  same  in  which  tlie  Spaniards  were  entertained  at 
their  first  entry  bv  the  Mexican  nobility.  Robertson 
speaks  of  a  dike  which  led  to  Tezcuco,  but  such  a 
dike  never  existed,  on  account  of  the  distance  of  the 
place,  and  the  great  depth  of  the  eastern  part  of  the 
lake. 

In  1338,  seventeen  years  after  the  foundation  of 
Tenochtitlan,  a  part  of  the  inhabitants,  in  a  civil 
dissension,  separated  from  the  rest :  they  established 
themselves  in  the  small  islands  to  the  north-west  of 
the  temple  of  Mexitli.  The  new  city,  which  at  first 
bore  the  name  of  Xaltilolco,  and  afterwards  Tlate- 
lolco,  was  governed  by  a  king  independent  of  Te- 
nochtitlan. In  the  centre  of  Anahuac,  as  well  as  in 
the  Peloponnesus,  Latium,  and  wherever  the  civiliza- 
tion of  the  human  species  was  merely  commencing, 
every  city,  for  a  long  time,  constituted  a  separate 
state.  The  Mexican  king  Axajacatl*  conquered 
Tlatelolco,  which  was  thenceforth  united  by  bridges 
to  the  city  of  Tenochtitlan.  I  discovered  in  the  hiero- 
gl}phical  manuscripts  of  the  ancient  Mexicans,  pre- 
served in  the  palace  of  the  viceroy,  a  curious  paint- 
ing, which  represents  the  last  king  of  Tlatelolco, 
called  Moquihuix,  as  killed  on  the  top  of  a  house  of 
God,  or  truncated  pyramid,  end  then  thrown  down 
tlie  stairs  which  led  to  the  stone  of  the  sacrifices. 
Since  this  catastrophe,  the  great  market  of  the  Mexi- 
cans, formerly  held  near  the  Teocalli  of  Mexitli,  was 
transferred  to  Tlatelolco.  The  description  of  the 
Mexican  market,  which  we  have  given  from  C©rtez, 
relates  to  the  market  of  Tlatelolco. 


*  Clavtgero,  i.  p.   251.     Axajacatl   reigned  from    J  464  to 
U77,  (iv.  p.  5S.) 


20  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  'i'HE        [book  ni. 

ANALYSIS.    5  J^-  i'ltendancy  of  3lexico. 

What  is  now  called  tire  Barrio  of  Santiago  com- 
poses but  a  part  of  the  ancient  Tlatelolco.  We  pro- 
ceed for  more  than  an  hour  on  the  road  to  Tancpantla 
and  Ahuahnetes,  among  the  ruins  of  the  old  city. 
We  perceive  there,  as  well  as  on  the  road  to  Tacu- 
ba  and  Iztapalapali,  how  much  the  Mexico  rebuilt  by 
Cortez  is  smaller  than  Tenochtitlan  under  the  last  of 
the  Monte zumas.  The  enormous  magnitude  of  the 
market-place  of  Tlatelolco,  of  which  the  boundaries 
are  still  discernible,  j^roves  the  great  population  of  the 
ancient  city.  The  Indians  show  in  this  same  mar- 
ket-place an  elevation  surrounded  by  walls.  It  was 
one  of  the  Mexican  theatres,  the  same  on  which 
Cortez,  a  few  days  belbre  the  end  of  the  siege,  erect- 
ed his  famous  Catapulta,  [trahuco  de pah^^)  the  ap- 
pearance of  which  alone  terrilied  the  besieged  ;  for 
the  machine  was  incapable  of  being  used  from  the 
awkwardness  of  the  artillery. men.  This  elevation  is 
now  included  in  the  porch  of  the  chapel  of  Santiago. 

The  city  of  Tenochtitlan  was  divided  into  four 
quarters,  called  Teopan,  or  Xochimilco,  Atzacualco, 
Moyoda,  and  Tlaguechiuchan,  or  Cuepopan.  The 
old  division  is  still  preserved  in  the  limits  assigned  to 
the  quarters  of  St.  Paul,  St.  Sebastian,  St.  John, 
and  St.  Mary ;  and  the  present  streets  have  for  the 
most  part  the  same  direction  as  the  old  ones,  nearly 
from  north  to  south,  and  from  east  to  west.f  But 
what  gives  the  new  city,  as  we  have  already  observed, 

*Loren2ana,  p.  289. 

t  Properly  from  the  S.  16o  W.  to  N.  74°  E.  at  least  towards 
the  convent  of  Saint  Auguslin,  vhere  I  took  my  azinmths. 
The  direction  of  the  old  streets  was  undoubtedly  determined 
Ijy  that  of  the  prir.cipal  dikes.  Now,  from  the  position  of  the 
places  where  these  dikes  appear  to  have  terminated,  it  is  very 
improbable  that  they  reprtthented  cxacilv  meridians  and  pa- 
rallels. 


cfiAP.  viii.j        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN-  oi 

STATISTIC AL>T      r,      ,  y.  xr        nr     ■ 

ANALYSIS,    i  ^*  ^^itaiaancy  of  New  Mexico. 

a  peculiar  and  distinctive  character,  is,  that  it  is  situ- 
ated entirely  on  the  continent,  between  the  extremi- 
ties of  the  tv»  o  lakes  ol  Tt  zeuco  and  Xochimilco,  and 
that  it  only  receives,  by  means  of  navigable  canals, 
the  fresh  water  of  the  Xochimilco. 

Many  circumstiinces  Iiave  contributed  to  this  new 
order  of  things.     The  pait  of  the  salt-water  lake  be- 
tween the  southern  and  western  dikes  was  always  the 
shallowest.     Cortez  complained  that  his  flotilla,  the 
brigantines  which  he  constructed  at  Tczcuco,  could 
not,  notwithstanding  the  openings  in  the  dikes,  make 
the  circuit  of  the  besieged  city.     Sheets  of  water  of 
small  depth  became  insensibly  marshes,  which,  when 
intersected  with  trenches  or  small  dcfluous   canals, 
were  converted  into  cliinampas  and  arable  land.  The 
lake  of  Tezcuco,  which  Valmont  de  Bomare*'  sup- 
posed to  communicate  with  the  ocean,  though  it  is  at 
on  elevation  of  2,277  metres,!    has  no  particular 
sources,  like  the  lake  of  Chalco.     When  ^ve  con^ 
sider,  on  the  one  hand,  the  small  volume  of  water 
with  which,  in  dry  seasons,  this  lake  is  furnished  by 
very  inconsiderable   rivers,  and,  on  the  other,   the 
enormous  rapidity  of  evaporation  in  the  table -land 
of  Mexico,  of  which  I  have  made  repeated  ex  peri- 
ments,  we  must  admit,  what  geological  observations 
appear  also  to  confirm,  that  for  centuries  the  want  of 
equilibrium  between  the  water  lost  by  evaporation, 
and  the  mass  of  water  flowing  in,  has  progressively 
circumscribed  the  lake  of  Tczcuco  within  more  nar- 
row limits.     We  learn  from  the  Mexican  annals,t 

*  Diciionncirc  d'Hiatoire  JuUurelle^  article  Lac. 

t  r,468  feet.      Trans. 

4  Paintijjgs  preserved  in  the  Vatican,  and  testimony  of  Fa- 
ther AcGSta. 


22  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  ih. 

^ANALYS?b\^ll-  Intendancy  of  Mexico. 

that  in  the  reign  of  King  Ahuizotl,  this  salt-water  lake 
experienced  such  a  want  of  water  as  to  interrupt  navi- 
gation ;  and  that  to  obviate  this  evil,  and  to  increase 
its  supplies,  an  aqueduct  was  constructed  from  Coyo- 
huacan  to  Tenochtitlan.  This  aqueduct  brought  the 
sources  of  Huitzilopochco  to  several  canals  of  the  city 
which  were  dried  up. 

This  diminution  of  water,  experienced  before  the 
arrival  of  the  Spaniards,  would  no  doubt  have  been 
very  slow  and  very  insensible,  if  the  hand  of  man, 
since  the  period  of  the  conquest,  had  not  contributed 
to  reverse  the  order  of  nature.  Those  who  have 
travelled  in  the  peninsula  know  how  much,  even  in 
Europe,  the  Spaniards  hate  all  plantations,  which 
jdeld  a  shade  round  towns  or  villages.  It  would  ap- 
pear that  the  first  conquerors  wished  the  beautiful 
valley  of  Tenochtitlan  to  resemble  the  Castilian  soil, 
^vhich  is  dry  and  destitute  of  vegetation.  Since  the 
sixteenth  century  they  have  inconsiderately  cut,  not 
only  the  trees  of  the  plain  in  which  the  capital  is  si- 
tuated, but  those  on  the  mountains  which  surround 
it.  The  construction  of  the  new  city,  begun  in 
1524,  required  a  great  quantity  of  timber  for  build- 
ing and  piles.  They  destroyed,  and  they  daily  de- 
stroy, without  planting  any  thing  in  its  stead,  except 
around  the  capital,  where  the  last  viceroys  have  per- 
petuated their  memory  by  promenades,*  {FaseoSy 
Alamedas^)  which  bear  their  names.  The  want  of  ve- 
getation exposes  the  soil  to  the  direct  influence  of  the 
solar  rays ;  and  the  humidity  which  is  not  lost  by  fil- 
tration through  the  amygdaloid,  basaltic,  and  spongy 
rock,  is  rapidly  evaporated  and  dissolved  in  air, 
wherever  the  foliage  of  the  trees  or  a  luxuriant  vcr- 

*  Pasco   de    Bucran'Uiy   de    RevHla^^i^edoy    de    GalveZs    dc 


tjHAP.  VIII.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  -23 

STATISTICAL^  T     r*     ^  rir     ■ 

ANALYSIS,     s    •  Ifitemaiici/  of  uMexico. 

dure  does  not  defend  tlie  soil  from  tlie  infiuencc  of 
die  sun  and  the  dry  winds  of  the  south. 

As  the  same  cause  operates  througliout  the  whole 
ralley,  the  abundance  and  circulation  of  water  has 
sensibly  diminished.  The  lake  of  Tezcuco,  the  finest 
of  the  five  lakes,  which  Cortez  in  his  letters  habi- 
tually calls  an  interior  sea.,  receives  much  less  water 
from  infiltration  than  in  the  sixteenth  centur}-.  Every- 
xvhere  the  clearing  and  destruction  of  fort  sts  ha\  e 
produced  the  same  effects.  General  Andreossi,  in 
his  classical  work  on  the  Canal  du  Midi^  has  proved 
that  the  springs  have  diminished  around  the  reservoir 
of  St.  Feneol,  merely  through  a  false  system  intro- 
duced in  the  management  of  the  forests.  In  the  pro- 
vince of  Caraccas,  the  picturesque  lake  of  Tacari- 
gua*  has  been  drying  gradually  up  ever  since  the 
sun  darted  his  rays  without  interposition  on  the  naked 
and  defenceless  soil  of  the  valleys  of  Aragua. 

But  the  circumstance  which  has  contributed  the 
most  to  the  diminution  of  the  lake  of  Tezcuco,  is 
the  famous  open  drain,  known  by  the  name  of  the 
Desague  real  de  Jliie/metoca,  which  we  shall  after- 
wards discuss.  This  cut  in  the  }7ioimtai?i,  first  begun 
in  1C07,  in  the  form  of  a  subterranean  tunnel,  has 
not  only  reduced  within  very  narrow  limits  the  two 
lakes  in  the  northern  part  of  the  valley,  i.  e.  the  lakes 
of  Zumpango  [Tzompango)  and  San  Christobal ;  but 
has  also  prevented  their  waters  in  the  rainy  season 
from  flowing  into  the  basin  of  the  lake  of  Tezcuco. 
These  waters  formerly  inundated  the  plains,  and  pu- 

*  New  islands  appear  in  it  from  time  to  time  from  the  di- 
minution of  water,  {las  afiurccidas.)  The  hike  of  Tacnrigua, 
or  J\i'ueva  ra/aida,  is  474  metres  (1554  feet)  elevrited  above 
the  level  of  the  sea.  (See  mv  Tal)lcaiix  de  !a  Nature,  torn. 
i.  p.  72.;'' 


24.  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [r.ooK  m. 

^^ANALyIis".^]  I-  Intendanmj  of  Mexico. 

rifled  a  soil  strongly  covered  with  carbonate  aixl  mu- 
riate of  soda.  At  present,  without  settling  into 
pools,  and  thereby  increasing  the  humidity  of  the 
Mexican  atmosphere,  they  are  drawn  off  by  an  arti- 
ficial canal  into  the  river  of  Panuco,  which  flows  into 
the  Atlantic  Ocean. 

This  state  of  things  has  been  brouglit  about  from 
the  desire  of  converting  the  ancient  city  of  Mexico 
into  a  capital  better  adapted  for  carriages,  and  less  ex- 
posed to  the  danger  of  inundation.  The  water  and 
vegetation  have  in  fact  diminished  with  the  same  ra- 
pidity with  which  the  tequesquitc  (or  carbonate  of 
soda)  has  increased.  In  the  time  of  Montezuma, 
and  long  afterwards,  the  suburb  of  Tlatelolco,  the 
barios  of  San  Sebastian,  San  Juan,  and  Santa 
Cruz,  were  celebrated  for  the  beautiful  verdure  of 
their  gardens  ;  but  these  places  now,  and  especially 
the  plains  of  San  Lazaro,  exhil^it  nothing  but  a  crust 
of  efflorescent  salts.  The  fertility  of  the  plain, 
though  yet  considerable  in  the  southern  part,  is  by 
no  means  what  it  was  wlien  the  city  ^\'as  surrounded 
by  the  lake.  A  wise  distribution  of  water,  particu- 
larly by  means  of  small  canals  of  irrigation,  might 
restore  the  ancient  fertiHty  of  the  soil,  and  re- enrich  a 
valley  which  nature  appears  to  have  destined  for  the 
capital  of  a  great  empire. 

The  actual  bounds  of  the  lake  of  Tezcuco  arc  not 
very  well  determined,  the  soil  being  so  argillaceous 
and  smooth  that  the  difference  of  le^'el  for  a  mile  is 
not  more  than  two  decimetres.*  When  the  east 
winds  blov/  with  any  violence,  the  v/ater  v.ithdraws 
towards  the  western  bank  of  the  lake,  and  sometimes 
leaves  an  extent  of  more  thail  600  metresi"  dry. 

*  7.874  inches.      Tran^.  +l,96Sfoet.     Tran^. 


CMAf.Tiii.]  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  25 

STATISTICAL^  j  Jntendancy  of  Mexico. 

Perhaps  the  periodical  operation  of  these  winds 
suggested  to  Cortez  the  idea  of.  regular  tides,*  of 
which  the  existence  has  not  been  confirmed  by  late 
observations.  The  lake  of  Tezcuco  is  in  general 
only  from  three  to  five  metrest  in  depth,  and  in 
some  places  even  less  than  one.  Hence  the  com- 
merce of  tl^  inhabitants  of  the  small  town  of  Tez- 
cuco suffers  much  in  the  very  dry  months  of  January 
and  February  ;  for  the  want  of  water  prevents  them 
from  going  in  canoes  to  the  capital.  The  lake  of 
Xochimilco  is  free  from  this  inconvenience ;  for 
from  Chalco,  Mesquic,  and  Tlahuac,  the  navigation 
is  never  once  interrupted,  and  Mexico  receives  daily, 
by  the  canal  of  Iztapalapan,  roots,  fruits,  and  flowers 
in  abundance. 

Of  the  five  lakes  of  the  valley  of  Mexico,  the  lake 
of  Tezcuco  is  most  impregnated  with  muriate  and 
carbonate  of  soda.  The  nitrate  of  barytes  proves 
that  this  water  contains  no  sulphate  in  dissolution. 
The  most  pure  and  limpid  water  is  that  of  the  lake 
of  Xochimilco,  the  specific  weight  of  which  I  found 
to  be  1.0009,  when  that  of  water  distilled  at  the 
temperature  of  18'' centigrade  J  was  1.000,  and  when 
water  from  the  lake  of  Tezcuco  was  l.Oil^.  The 
water  of  this  last  lake  is  consequently  heavier  than 
that  of  the  Baltic  sea,  and  not  so  heavy  as  that  of  the 
ocean,  which,  under  diflerent  latitudes,  has  been 
found  between  1.026<>  and  1.0285.  The  quantity  of 
sulphuretted  hydrogen  which  is  detached  from  the 
surface  of  all  the  Mexican  lakes,  and  which  the 
acetite  of  lead  indicates  in  great  abundance  in  the 

*  Jourrtfl  de  Savann  for  the  year  1676,  p.  34.  The  lake  ol 
Geneva  manifests  also  a  rcivuiar  nioiion,  which  Saussure  at- 
tributes to  periodical  winds. 

t  9  *-5  to  16  2-5  feet.     Trann.        t  J'*'''  I'^ahreuhcit.     Trans. 
VOL.  II.  D 


26  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        (book  hi. 

^^ANALYSrs^^']  I-  Intendancy  of  Mexico. 

lakes  of  Tezciico  and  Chalco,  undoubtedly  contri- 
butes in  certain  seasons  to  the  unhealthiness  of  the 
air  of  the  valley.  However,  and  the  fact  is  curious, 
intermittent  fevers  are  very  rare  on  the  banks  of  these 
very  lakes,  of  which  the  surface  is  partly  concealed 
by  rushes  and  aquatic  herbs. 

Adorned  with  numerous  teocallis,  like  so  many 
Mahometan  steeples,  surrounded  with  water  and 
dikes,  founded  on  islands  covered  with  verdure,  and 
receiving  hourly  in  its  streets  thousands  of  boats 
which  vivified  the  lake,  the  ancient  Tenochtitlan, 
according  to  the  accounts  of  the  first  conquerors, 
must  have  resembled  some  of  the  cities  of  Holland, 
China,  or  die  Delta  of  Lower  Egypt.  The  capital, 
reconstructed  by  the  Spaniards,  exhibits,  perhaps,  a 
less  vivid,  though  a  more  august  and  majestic  ap- 
pearance. Mexico  is  undoubtedly  one  of  the  finest 
cities  ever  built  by  Europeans  in  either  hemisphere. 
With  the  exception  of  Petersburg,  Berlin,  Philadel- 
phia, and  some  quarters  of  Westminster,  there  docs 
not  exist  a  city  of  the  same  extent  which  can  be 
compared  to  the  capital  of  New  Spain,  for  the  uniform 
level  of  the  ground  on  which  it  stands,  for  the  regu- 
larity and  breadth  of  the  streets,  and  the  extent  of  the 
public  places.  The  architecture  is  generally  of  a 
vtry  pure  style,  and  there  are  even  edifices  of  very 
beautiful  structure.  Tlie  exterior  of  the  houses  is 
not  loaded  with  ornaments.  Two  sorts  of  hewn 
*itonc,  the  porous  amygdaloid  called  tetzontli,  and 
especially  a  jxjrphyry  of  vitreous  feld-spath  without 
any  quartz,  give  to  the  Mexican  buildings  an  air  of 
solidity,  and  sometimes  even  magnificence.  There 
:^re  none  of  those  wooden  balconies  and  galleries  to 
be  seen  which  disfigure  so  much  all  the  European 
cities  in  both  the  Indies.  The  balustrades  and  gates 
are  all  of  Biscay  iron,  ornamented  with  bronze,  and 


CHAP,  viii]         KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  27 

^  ANALYS?S^^5  I-  Intendancij  of  Mexico. 

the  houses,  instead  of  roofs,  have  terraces  like  those 
in  Italy  and  other  southern  countries. 

Mexico  has  been  very  much  embellished  since  the 
residence  of  the  Abbe  Chappe  there  in  1769.  The 
edifice  destined  to  the  School  of  Mines,  for  which 
ihe  richest  individuals  of  the  country  furnished 
a  sum  of  more  than  three  millions  of  francs,* 
would  adorn  the  principal  places  of  Paris  or  Lon- 
don. Two  great  palaces  (hotels)  were  recently  con- 
structed by  Mexican  artists,  pupils  of  the  Academy 
of  Fine  Arts  of  the  capital.  One  of  these  palaces, 
in  the  quarter  della  Traspana,  exhibits  in  the  inte- 
rior of  the  court  a  very  beautiful  oval  peristyle  of 
coupled  columns.  The  traveller  justly  admires  a 
vast  circumference  paved  with  porphyry  flags,  and 
enclosed  with  an  iron  railing,  richly  ornamented  with 
bronze,  containing  an  equestrian  statuef  of  King 
Charles  the  Fourth,  placed  on  a  pedestal  of  Mexican 
marble,  in  the  midst  of  the  Plaza  Major  of  Mexico, 
opposite  the  cathedral  and  the  viceroy's  palace. 
However,  it  must  be  agreed,  that  notwithstanding 
the  progress  of  the  arts  within  these  last  thirty  years, 
it  is  much  less  from  the  grandeur  and  beauty  of 
the  monuments,  than  from  the  breadth  and  straight- 
ness  of  the  streets,  and  much  less  from  its  edifices 
than  from  its  uniform  regularity,  its  extent  and  posi- 

*  124,800/.  sterling.   TVaras.—See  Chap.  VII. 

t  This  colossal  statue  was  executed  at  the  expense  of  the 
Marquis  de  Branciforte,  I'ormerly  viceroy  of  Mexico,  bro- 
ther-in-law of  the  Prince  of  Peace.  It  weighs  450  quintals, 
and  was  modelled,  founded,  and  placed  by  the  same  artist, 
M.  Tolsu,  whose  name  deserves  a  distinguished  place  in  the 
history  of  Spanish  sculpture.  The  merits  of  this  man  of  ge- 
nius can  only  be  appreciated  by  those  who  know  the  difficul- 
ties with  which  the  execution  of  these  great  works  of  ui"t 
are  attended  even  in  civilized  Europe. 


28  VOLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  in. 

ANAI.YSIS.   S^'  Intendancy  of  Mexico* 

tion,  that  the  capital  of  New  Spam  attracts  the  admi- 
ration of  Europeans.  From  a  singular  concurrence 
of  circumstances,  I  have  seen  successively,  within  a 
very  short  space  of  time,  Lima,  Mexico,  Philadelphia, 
Washington,*  Paris,  Rome,  Naples,  and  the  lar- 
gest cities  of  Germany.  By  comparing  together  im- 
pressions which  follow  in  rapid  succession,  we  are 
enabled  to  rectify  any  opinion  which  we  may  have 
too  easily  adopted.  Notwithstanding  such  unavoida- 
ble comparisons,  of  which  several,  one  would  think, 
must  hare  proved  disadvantageous  for  the  capital 
of  Mexico,  it  has  left  in  me  a  recollection  of  gran- 
deur which  I  principally  attribute  to  the  majestic 
character  of  its  situation  and  the  surrounding  scenery. 
In  fact,  nothing  can  present  a  more  rich  and 
varied  appearance  than  the  valley,  when,  in  a  fine  sum- 
mer morning,  the  sky  without  a  cloud,  and  of  that 
deep  azure  which  is  peculiar  to  the  dry  and  rarefied 
air  of  high  mountains,  we  transport  ourselves  to  the 
top  of  one  of  the  towers  of  the  cathedral  of  Mexico,  or 
ascend  thehill  of  Chapoltepec.  A  beautiful  vegetation 

*  From  the  plan  of  the  city  of  Washington,  and  from  the 
magnificence  of  its  Capitol,  of  which  1  only  saw  a  part  comple- 
ted, the  Federal  City  will  undoubtedly  one  duy  be  a  much  finer 
cily  than  Mexico.  Philadelphia  Iias  also  the  same  regularity 
of  construction.  The  alleys  of  plalanus,  acacia,  and  populus 
heterophylla,  which  adorn  its  streets,  almost  give  to  it  a  ru- 
ral beauty.  The  vegetation  of  the  banks  of  the  Potomac  and 
Delaware  is  also  richer  than  \\  hat  we  fiiid  at  2,300  metres 
(7,500  feet)  of  elevation  on  the  ridge  of  the  Mexican  Cordil- 
leras. But  Wasl;ii)gton  and  Philadelphia  w  iil  always  look  like 
European  cities.  They  will  not  strike  tiic  eyes  of  the  tra- 
veller with  that  peculiar,  I  may  say  exotic,  character  which 
belongs  to  Mexico,  Santa  Fe  de  Bogota,  Quito,  and  all  the 
tropical  capitals,  constructed  at  an  elevation  as  high  or  higher 
'ban  the  passage  of  the  great  St.  Bernard. 
6 


CHAP,  vni.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  29 

STATISTICAL)  T      r,       »  /•  1  / 

ANALYSIS     s       Intendancij  oj  Mexico. 

surrounds  this  hill.  Old  cypress  trunks,*  of  more  than 
15  and  16  metresf  in  circumfcrtncc,  raise  their  na- 
ked heads  above  those  of  the  schinus,  which  resem- 
ble in  their  appearance  the  weeping  willows  of  the 
cast.  From  the  centre  of  this  solitude,  the  summit 
of  the  porphyritical  rock  of  Chapoltepec,  the  eye 
sweeps  over  a  vast  plain  of  carefully  cultivated  fields, 
which  extend  to  the  very  feet  of  the  colossal  moun- 
tains covered  with  perpetual  snow.  The  city  ap- 
pears as  if  washed  by  the  \\'aters  of  the  lake  of  Tez- 
cuco,  whose  basin,  surrounded  with  villages  and 
hamlets,  brings  to  mind  the  most  beautiful  lakes  of 
the  mountains  of  Switzerland.  Large  avenues  of 
elms  and  poplars  lead  in  every  direction  to  the  capi- 
tal ;  and  two  aqueducts,  constructed  over  arches  of 
very  great  elevation,  cross  the  plain,  and  exhibit  an 
appearance  equally  agreeable  and  interesting.  The 
magnificent  convent  of  Nuestra  Sanora  de  Guada- 
lupe appears  joined  to  the  mountains  of  Tcpeyacac, 
among  ravines,  which  shelter  a  few  date  and  young 
yucca  trees.  Towards  the  south,  the  whole  tract  be- 
tween San  Angel,  Tacabaya,  and  San  Augustin  de 
las  Cuevas,  appears  an  immense  garden  of  orange, 
peach,  apple,  cherry,  and  other  European  fruit  trees. 
This  beautiful  cultivation  forms  a  singular  contrast 
with  the  wild  appearance  of  the  naked  mountains 
which  enclose  the  valley,  among  which  the  famous 
volcanoes  of  La  Puebla,  Popocatepetl,  and  Iztacci- 
huatl  are  the  most  distinguished.  The  first  of  these 
forms  an  enormous  cone,  of  which  the  crater,  con- 
tinually inflamed  and  throwing  up  smoke  and  ashes, 
opens  in  the  midst  of  eternal  snows. 

*  Los  Ahuahuetes. — Cupressus  disticha  Lin. 
t  49  and  52  feet.   Trant. 


30  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  irr. 

STATISTICAL^,     t  .^  ^  /•  71  r      • 

ANALYSIS.    S     intemancy  of  Mexico. 

The  city  of  Mexico  is  also  remarkable  for  its  ex- 
cellent police.  The  most  part  of  the  streets  have  very 
broad  pavements,  andlhey  are  clean  and  well  lighted. 
These  advantages  are  the  fruits  of  the  activity  of  the 
Count  de  Revillagigedo,  who  on  his  arrival  found 
the  capital  extremely  dirty. 

Water  is  everywhere  to  be  had  in  the  soil  of 
Mexico,  a  very  short  way  below  the  surface,  but  it 
is  brackish,  like  the  water  of  the  lake  of  Tezcuco. 
The  two  aqueducts  already  mentioned,  by  which  the 
city  receives  fresh  water,  are  monuments  of  modern 
construction  worthy  of  the  traveller's  attention.  The 
springs  of  potable  water  are  situated  to  the  east  of 
the  town,  one  in  the  insulated  hill  of  Chapoltepec, 
and  the  other  in  the  cerros  of  Santa  Fe,  near  the  Cor- 
dillera, which  separates  the  valley  of  Tenochtitlan 
from  that  of  Lerma  and  Toluca.  The  arches  of  the 
aqueduct  of  Chapoltepec  occupy  a  length  of  more 
than  3,300  metres.*  The  water  of  Chapoltepec  en- 
ters by  the  southern  part  of  the  city,  at  the  kSalto  del 
Agua.  It  is  not  the  most  pure,  and  is  only  drank 
in  the  suburbs  of  Mexico.  The  water  which  is 
least  impregnated  with  carbonate  of  lime  is  that 
of  the  aqueduct  of  Santa  Fe,  which  runs  along 
Alameda,  and  terminates  at  la  Traspana,  at  the 
bridge  de  la  Marescala.  This  aqueduct  is  nearly 
10,200  metresf  in  length ;  but  the  declivity  of  the 
ground  is  such,  that  for  not  more  than  a  third  of  this 
space  the  water  can  be  conducted  over  arches.  The 
old  city  of  Tenochtitlan  had  aqueducts  no  less  consi- 
derable.:j:  In  the  beginning  of  the  siege,  the  two 
captains  Alvarado  and  Olid  destroyed  that  of  Cha- 
poltepec.    Corttz,  in  iiis  first  letter   to  Charles    the 

*  10,826  feet.      Trans.  f  33,464  feet.      7Vfl?j.v. 

:|:  C/avii^ero,  iii:  p.   195.      Soils,  i.  p.  AOF,. 


r.HAi'.  viir  ]         KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  31 

TATISr 

ANALY: 


STATISTICAL  7  x     r  *      J  r  A/T      • 

V'SIS.    3  '•  intemiancij  oj  Mexico. 


Fifth,  speaks  also  of  the  spring  of  Aniilco,  near  Chu- 
rubusco,  of  wliich  tlic  w  atcrs  were  bi  ouglit  to  the 
city  by  pipes  of  burnt  earth.  This  spring  is  near  to 
that  of  Santa  Fe.  We  still  perceive  the  remains  of 
this  great  aqueduct,  which  \\as  constructed  with 
double  pipes,  one  of  which  received  the  water,  while 
they  were  employed  in  cleaning  the  other.*  This 
"vvater  was  sold  in  canoes,  which  traversed  the  streets 
of  Tenochtitlan.  The  sources  of  San  Augustin  de 
las  Cuevas  are  the  finest  and  ptirest ;  and  I  imagined 
I  discovered  on  the  road  leading  from  this  charming 
village  to  Mexico  traces  of  an  ancient  aqueduct. 

We  have  already  named  the  three  principal  dikes 
by  which  the  old  city  was  connected  with  the  Terra 

*  Lorenzana,  p.  108. — The  largest  and  finest  construction 
of  the  Indians  in  this  way  is  the  aqueduct  of  the  city  of  Tez- 
cuco.  We  still  admite  the  traces  of  a  great  mound  which 
was  constructed  to  heighten  the  level  of  the  water.  How 
must  we  admire  the  industry  and  activity  displayed  in  general 
by  the  ancient  Mexicans  and  Peruvians.in  the  irrigation  of 
arid  lands  I  In  the  maritime  part  of  Peru  I  have  seen  the  re- 
mains of  walls,  along  which  water  Avas  conducted  for  a  space 
of  from  5  to  6,000  metres  (from  16,404  to  19,685  feet)  from 
the  foot  of  the  Cordillera  to  the  coast.  The  conquerors  of  the 
16th  century  destroyed  these  aqueducts,  and  that  part  of 
Peru  is  become,  like  Persia,  a  desert  destitute  of  vegetation. 
Such  is  the  civilization  carried  by  the  Europeans  among  the 
people  whom  they  are  pleased  to  call  barbarous,     yluthor. 

How  much  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  Robertson  gives  usually 
such  general  descriptions)  that  we  have  a  difficulty  in  forming 
any  thing  like  a  distinct  conception  of  the  subjects  of  them. 
He  says  of  the  Peru  canals  of  irrigation,  "  By  means  of  artifi- 
cial canals,  conducted  with  much  patience  and  considerable 
art  from  the  torrents  that  poured  across  their  country,  they 
conveyed  a  regular  supply  of  moisture  to  their  fields." — 
Would  it  have  been  beneath  the  dignity  of  an  historian,  to  have 
specified  that  art  and  that  patience  to  his  readers  for  which 
he  did  not  want  materials  I      Trans. 


52  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [boor  ni. 

^^/fNALvKs  ^]  ^'  Intendancy  of  Mexico. 

Firma.     These  dikes  partly  still  exist,  and  the  num- 
ber has  been  even  increased.     They  form  at  present 
great  paved  causeys  across  marshy  grounds ;    and 
as  they  are  very  elevated,  they  possess  the   double 
advantage  of  admitting  the  passage  of  carriages,  and 
containing  the  overflowings  of  the  lake.     The  Cal- 
zada  of  Astapalapan  is  founded  on  the  very  same 
old  dike  on  which  Cortez  performed  such  prodigies 
of  valour  in  his  encounters  with  the  besieged.   The 
Calzada  of  San  Anton  is  still  distinguished  in  our 
days  for  the  great  number  of  small  bridges  which 
the  Spaniards  and  Tlascaltecs  found  there,  when  San- 
doval, Cortez's  companion   in  arms,   was  wounded 
near  Coyohuacan.*      These  Calzadas  of  San  Anto- 
nio Abad,  of  La  Piedad,  of  San  Christobal,  and  of 
Guadalupe,' (anciently  called  the  dike  of  Tepeyacac,) 
were  newly  reconstructed  after  the  great  inundation 
of  1604,  under  the  viceroy  Don  Juan  de    Mendoza, 
y   Lima,     Marquis    de    Montesclaros.      The    only 
savans  of  that  time,  Fathers  Torquemada  and  Gero- 
nimo  de  Zaratc,   executed  the  survey  and  marking 
out    of    the   causeys.      At    this   peiiod   the  city  of 
Mexico  was  paved  for  the  first  time  ;   for  before  the 
Count  de  Revillagigedo,  no  other  viceroy   had  em- 
ployed  himself  more  successfully  in  effecting  a  good 
police  than  the  Marquis  de  Montesclaros. 

The  objects  which  generally  attract  the  attention 
of  the  traveller  are,  1.  The  cathedral^  of  which  a 
small  part  is  in  the  style  vulgarly  called  Gothic  :  the 
principal  edifice,  which  has  two  towers  ornamented 
with  pilasters  and  statues,  is  of  very  beautiful  sym- 
metry and  very  recent  construction.  2.  The  treasu- 
ry, adjoining  to  the  palace  of  the  viceroys,  a  building 

*  Lorenzana,  p.  229,  245. 


CHAP,  viii]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  33 

^^A^ALYS^^^l^-  I'^tendancij  of  Mexico. 

from  which,  since  the  beginning  of  the  16th  century, 
more  than  6,500  millions*  in  gold  and  silver  coin  have 
been    issued.     3.   The   convents y   among  which  the 
great  convent  of  St.   Francis  is  particularly  distin- 
guished, which  from  alms  alone  possesses  an  annual 
revenue  of  half  a  million  of  francs. f    This  vast  edifice 
was  at  first  intended  to  be  constructed  on  the  ruins  of 
the  temple  of  Huitzilopochtli ;  but  these  ruins  having 
been  destined  for  the  foundation  of  the  cathedral,  the 
convent  was  begun  in  1531  in  its  actual  ^situation.  It 
owes  its  existence  to  the  great  activity  of  a  serving- 
brother  or  lay  monk,  Fray  Pedro  de  Gante,  an  ex- 
traordinary man,  who  was  said  to  have  been  the  natu- 
ral son  of  the  Emperor  Charles  the  Fifth,  and  who 
was  a  great  benefactor  of  the  Indians,  to  whom  he 
^vas  the  first  who  taught  the  most  useful  mechanical 
arts  of  Europe.     4.  The  hospital^  or  rather  the  two 
united  hospitals,  of  \vhich  the  one  maintains  600  and 
the  othei'  800  children  and  old  people.     This  esta- 
blishment, in  which  both  order  and  cleanliness  may 
be  seen,  but  little  industry,  has  a  revenue  of  250,000 
francs.J     A  rich  merchant  lately  bequeathed  to  it 
by  his  testament  six  millions   of  francs, §  which  the 
royal  treasury  laid  hold  of,  on  the  promise  of  paying 
five  per  cent,  for  it.     5.  The   acor'dada,  a  fine  edi- 
fice, of  which  the  prisons  are  generally  spacious  and 
well  aired.     They  reckon  in  this  house,  and  in  the 
other  prisons  of  the  acordada  which  depend   on   it, 
more  than  1,200  individuals,  among  whom  are  a  great 
number  of  smugglers,  and  the  unfortunate  Indian 

*  270,855,000/.  sterling.      Trans.' 

t  20,835/.  sterling.      Trans. 

\  10,470/.  sterling;.      Tra/is.         §  250,020/.  sterling.      Tran.". 
VOL.  II.  E 


54  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  iif. 

^\1JvL™s^^ll-  Intendancy  of  Mexico, 

prisoners  dragged  to  Mexico  from  the  provincial  in^ 
ternas,  (Indios  Mecos,)  of  whom  we  have  already 
spoken  in  the  6th  and  7th  chapters.  6.  The  School 
of'  Mines,  the  newly  begun  edifice,  and  the  old  pro- 
visory establishment,  with  its  fine  collections  in 
physics,  mechanics,  and  mineralogy. *^  7.  The  bo- 
tanical garden^  in  one  of  the  courts  of  the  vice- 
roy's palace.  It  is  very  small,  but  extremely  rich  in 
vegetable  productions  either  rare  or  interesting  for 
commerce.  8.  The  edifices  of  the  university  and 
the  public  library,  which  is  very  unworthy  of  so  great 
and  ancient  an  establishment.  9.  The  Academy  of 
Fine  Aj'tSy  with  a  collection  of  ancient  casts.  10. 
The  equestrian  statue  of  King  Charles  the  Fourth 
in  the  Plaza  Mayor,  and  the  sepulchral  monument 
which  the  Duke  de  Monteleone  consecrated  to  the 
great  Cortez,  in  a  chapel  of  the  Hospital  de  los  Na- 
turales.  It  is  a  simple  family  monument,  adorned 
with  a  bust  in  bronze,  representing  the  hero  in  the 
prime  of  life,  executed  by  M.  Tolsa.  Wherever  we 
traverse  Spanish  America,  from  Buenos  Ayres  to 
jVlonterey,  and  from  Trinidad  and  Porto  Rico  to 
Panama  and  Veragua,  we  nowhere  meet  with  a  na- 
tional monument  erected  by  the  public  gratitude  to 
the  glorv  of  Christopher  Columbus  and  Hernan  Cor- 
tez ! 

Those  who  are  addictc^d  to  the  study  of  history, 
and  who  love  to  investigate   American  antiquities, 

*  There  are  two  other  very  remarkable  oryctognostical  and 
geological  collections  belonging  to  Professor  Cervantes  and 
the  Oidor  M.  Caravajal.  -This  respectable  magistrate  also 
possesses  a  superb  cabinet  of  shells,  collected  during  his  re- 
sidence in  the  Philippine  Islands,  where  he  displayed  the 
VAiTie  zeal  for  the  physical  sciences  for  m  hich  he  is  so  ho- 
nourably distinguished  at  Mexico.  , 


CHAP.  VIII.]         KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  35 

^^IStYSs""^]!-  IntenSancy  of  Mexico. 

will  not  find  in  this  capital  those  great  remains  oi 
works  which  are  to  be  seen  in  Peru,  in  the  environs 
of  Cusco  and  Guamachuco,  at  Pachacamac  near 
Lima,  or  at  Mansiche  near  Truxillo ;  at  Canar  and 
Cayo  in  the  province  of  Quito ;  and  in  Mexico,  near 
Mitla  and  Cholula,  in  the  intendancics  of  Oaxaca 
and  Puebla.  It  appears  that  the  teocallis  (of  which 
we  have  already  attempted  to  describe  the  strange 
form)  were  the  sole  monuments  of  the  Aztecs.  Now 
the  christian  fanaticism  was  not  only  highly  interested 
in  their  destruction,  but  the  very  safety  of  the  con- 
queror rendered  such  a  destruction  necessary.  It 
was  partly  effected  during  the  siege  ;  for  those  trun- 
cated pyramids  rising  up  by  layers  served  for  refuge 
to  the  combatants,  like  the  temple  of  Baal-Berith  to 
the  people  of  Canaan.  They  were  so  many  cas- 
tles from  which  it  was  necessary  to  dislodge  the 
enemy. 

As  to  the  houses  of  individuals,  which  the  Spanish 
historians  describe  as  very  low,  we  are  not  to  be 
surprised  to  find  merely  their  foundations  or  low 
ruins,  such  as  we  discover  in  the  Bario  de  Tlatelolco, 
and  towards  the  canal  of  Istacalco.  Even  in  the  most 
part  of  our  European  cities,  how  small  is  the  number 
of  houses  of  which  the  cpnstruction  goes  so  far  back 
as  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century  !  How- 
ever, the  edifices  of  Mexico  are  not  fallen  into  ruins 
through  age.  Animated  by  the  same  spirit  of  de- 
struction which  the  Romans  displayed  at  Syracuse, 
Carthage,  and  in  Greece,  the  Spanish  conquerors 
believed  that  the  siege  of  a  Mexican  city  never  was 
finished  till  they  had  rased  every  building  in  it. 
Cortez,  in  his  third  letter*  to  the  Emperor  Charles  V. 

*  Lorenzana,  p.  278. 


36  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [boox  hi. 

STATISTICAL?  j     t  .     j  r  n/T 

ANALYSIS,  5  ^*  ^ntendancy  of  Mexico, 

discloses  himself  the  fearful  system  which  he  followed 
in  his  military  operations.  "  Notwithstanding  all 
these  advantages,"  says  he,  "  which  we  have  gained, 
I  saw  clearly  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  city  of  Temix- 
titlan  (Tenochtitlan)  were  so  rebellious  and  obsti- 
nate that  they  wished  rather  to  perish  than  surrender. 
I  knew  not  what  means  to  employ  to  spare  so  many 
dangers  and  hardships,  and  to  avoid  completing  the 
entire  ruin  of  the  capital,  which  was  the  most  beau- 
tiful thing  in  the  world  {a  la  ciudad^  porqiie  era  la 
mas  hermosa  cosa  del  Mundo.)  It  was  in  vain  to  tell 
them  that  I  would  never  raise  my  camp,  nor  with- 
draw my  flotilla  of  brigantines  ;  and  that  I  would 
never  cease  to  carry  on  the  war  by  land  and  water 
till  I  was  master  of  Temixtitlan ;  and  it  was  in  vain 
I  observed  to  them  that  they  could  expect  no  as- 
sistance, and  that  there  was  not  a  nook  of  land  from 
which  they  could  hope  to  draw  maize,  meat,  fruits, 
and  water.  The  more  we  made  these  exhortations 
to  them,  the  more  they  showed  us  that  they  were  far 
from  being  discouraged.  They  had  no  other  desire 
but  that  of  fighting.  In  this  state  of  things,  con- 
sidering that  more  than  forty  or  fifty  days  had  already 
elapsed  since  wc  began  to  invest  the  place,  I  resolved 
at  last  to  adopt  means,  by  which,  in  providing  for 
our  own  security,  we  should  be  able  to  press  our 
enemies  more  closely.  /  formed  the  design  of  de- 
7nolishing  on  all  sides  all  the  houses  in  proportion  as  we 
became  masters  of  the  streets^  so  that  we  sJioidd  not 
advance  a  foot  without  having  destroyed  and  cleared 
down  xvhatever  was  behind  us,  coiwerting  into  firm 
ground  whatever  was  rvater,  however  slow  the  ope- 
ration might  be;  and  notwithstanding  the   delay   to 


CHAP,  viii]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  37 

^Yn^vL™s^^1  I-  Intevdancij  of  Mexico. 

which  we  should  expose  ourselves.*  For  this  purpose 
I  assembled  the  lords  and  chiefs  of  our  allies ;  and  I 
explained  to  them  the  resolution  which  I  had  formed. 
I  engaged  them  to  send  a  great  number  of  labourers 
with  their  coas,  which  are  somewhat  like  the  hoes 
which  are  used  in  Spain  for  excavations ;  and  our 
allies  and  friends  approved  my  project,  for  they 
hoped  that  the  city  would  be  laid  in  complete  ruins, 
which  they  had  ardently  desired  for  a  long  time. 
Three  or  four  days  passed  without  fighting,  for  we 
Avaited  the  arrival  of  the  people  from  the  country, 
who  were  to  aid  us  in  demolishing." 

After  reading  the  naif  recital  of  this  commander 
in  chief  to  his  sovereign,  we  are  not  to  be  surprised 
at  finding  almost  no  vestige  of  the  ancient  Mexican 
edifices.  Cortez  relates  that  the  Indians,  to  revenge 
themselves  for  the  oppressions  which  they  had  suf- 
fered from  the  Aztec  kings,  flocked  in  great  num- 
bers, even  from  the  remotest  provinces,  whenever 
they  learned  that  the  destruction  of  the  capital  was 
going  on.  The  rubbish  of  the  demolished  houses 
served  to  fill  up  the  canals.  The  streets  were  made 
dry  to  allow  the  Spanish  cavalry  to  act.  The  low 
houses,  like  those  of  Pekin  and  China,  w^rc  partly 
constructed  of  wood  and  partly  of  tetzontli,  a  spongy 
stone,  light,  and  easily  broken.  "  More  than  fifty 
thousand   Indians  assisted  us,"  says  Cortez,  "  that 


*  Accorde  de  tomar  un  rnedio  para  nuestra  seguridad  y 
para  poder  mas  estrechar  a  los  eneniigos ;  y  fue  que  como 
tuessemos  ganando  por  las  calles  de  la  ciudad,  que  fuessen 
derocando  todas  las  casas  de  ellas,  de  un  Itido  y  del  otro ;  por 
manera  que  no  fuessemos  un  passo  adelante  sin  la  dcjar  todo 
asolado  y  que  lo  que  era  agua  hacerlo  tierra  firme ;  aunque 
hubiesse  todo  la  dilacion  que  se  pudiesse  seguir.  Lorenzana, 
No.  xxxiv. 


38  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  hi. 

^  ANALYSIS^^^]  ^'  ^nte?icknc7/  of  Mexico. 

day,  when,  marching  over  heaps  of  carcasses,  we  at 
length  gained  the  great  street  ofTacuba,  and  burned 
the  house  of  King  Guatimucin.*     No  other  thing, 

*  The  true  name  of  this  unfortunate  king,  the  last  of  the 
Aztec  dynasty,  was  Quauhiemotzin.  He  is  the  same  to  whona 
Cortez  caused  the  soics  of  the  feet  to  be  gradually  burned, 
after  having  soaked  them  in  oil.  This  torment,  however,  did 
not  induce  the  king  to  declare  in  Avhat  place  his  treasures 
were  concealed.  His  end  was  the  same  as  that  of  the  king 
of  Acolhuacan,  (Tezcuco,)  and  of  Tetlepanguetzaltzin,  king  of 
Tlacopan,  (Tacuba.)  These  three  princes  were  hung  on  the 
same  tree,  and  as  I  saw  in  a  hicroglyphical  picture  possessed 
by  Father  Pichardo,  (in  the  convent  of  San  Felipe  Neri,)  they 
were  hung  by  the  feet  to  lengthen  out  their  torments.  This 
act  of  cruelty  in  Cortez,  which  recent  historians  have  the 
meanness  to  describe  as  the  effect  of  a  far-sighted  policy,  ex- 
cited murmurs  in  the  very  army.  "  The  death  of  the  young 
king,"  says  Bernal  Diaz  del  Castillo,  (an  old  soldier  full  of 
honour  and  of  naivety  of  expression,)  "  was  a  very  unjust 
thing.  And  it  was  accordingly  blamed  by  us  all,  so  long  as 
we  were  in  the  suite  of  the  captain,  in  his  march  to  Comaja- 
hua."     Author. 

The  Abbe  Clavigero  observes,  on  what  authority  I  know 
not,  that  this  cruelty  made  Cortez  very  melancholy,  and  gave 
him  a  few  sleepless  nights,  una  gran  malinconia,  ed  aicune 
negghie.  Well  indeed  it  might ;  but  whether  we  are  indebted 
for  these  vegghie  to  the  native  suggestions  of  his  own  con- 
science, or  to  the  murmurs  of  his  army,  is  not  so  easily  to 
be  determined  ;  for  heroes'  consciences  are  made  of  stern  stuff, 
as  many  can  witness  who  have  known  several  of  them  perform 
certain  actions  in  a  certain  neighbouring  country,  and  neither 
eat  nor  sleep  the  worse  for  it ;  at  the  bare  recital  of  which 
otlicr  people's  checks  turn  either  pale  or  flushed  as  their 
diffeient  temperaments  dispose  them.  We  must  not  think 
tiiat  the  Spaniards  monopolized  cruelty  in  foreign  settlements. 
Mr.  Orme,  in  his  excellent  History  of  Hindostan,  celebrates 
some  feats  of  our  own  countrymen,  and  those  the  bravest  of 
our  countrymen,  which  yield  very  liitlc  to  any  thing  in  the 
Mexican  annals.  Three  or  four  luindrtd,  I  believe,  of  the 
brave  grenadiers  who  lont;^  distinguished  themselves  so  gal- 
lantly on  the  plains   of  Trichinnpoly,   and  who,  rushing  on 


CHAP.  VIII.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  39 

^Wal™^^]  ^-  Ijife'^(l(incy  of  Mexico. 

accordingly,  was  done  than  burn  and  demolish 
houses.  Those  of  the  city  said  to  our  allies,  that 
they  did  wrong  in  assisting  us  to  destroy,  bccatise 
one  day  they  would  have  to  reconstruct  \vith  their 
hands  the  veiy  same  edifices,  either  for  the  besieged 
if  they  were  to  conquer,  or  for  us  Spaniards,  who, 
in  reality,  now  compel  them  to  rebuild  what  was  de- 
molished."* In  going  over  the  Libro  del  Cabildo, 
a  manuscript  already  mentioned  by  us,  which  contains 
the  history  of  the  new  city  of  Mexico  from  the  year 
1524  to  1529,  I  found  nothing  in  all  the  pages  but 
names  of  people  who  appeared  before  the  alguazils 
"  to  demand  the  situation  [solar]  on  which  formerly 

certain  destruction,  swore,  in  their  energetic  way,  "  they 
would  follow  their  leader  to  hell,"  on  taking  possession  of  a 
fortified  town  in  Arcot  put  every  soul  in  it  to  death,  man, 
woman  and  child,  for  no  other  reason  than  that  the  place  had 
been  gallantly  defended.  Heroes  are  nearly  the  same  all  the 
world  over. 

But,  to  be  sure,  the  poor  Mexican  kings  were  better  off, 
Juan  de  Varillas,  a  friar  of  the  order  of  Nuestra  Senora  de 
la  Merced,  confessed  them,  and  comforted  them  in  their  suf- 
ferings, that  they  were  good  christians,  and  that  they  died  in 
good  preparation,  seeing  they  were  baptised:  li  confesso  e 
confurto  nel  sufiftlicio  :  ch'eglino  erano  buoni  Cristiani,  e  che 
morirono  ben  disfiosti :  ond'  e  mayiifeslo  ch''  erano  stato  battez- 
zati.     (Clavigero,  iii.  p.  233.  Note.) 

It  is  only  after  considering  the  operations  of  an  army  in 
detail,  and  the  ferocious  dispositions  and  habits  of  those  of 
which  it  is  almost  necessarily,  for  the  greatest  part,  com- 
posed, that  we  can  fully  appreciate  all  the  glory  of  a  Corn- 
wallis,  an  Abercrombie,  or  a  Moore.  This  is  not  dictated  in 
the  spirit  of  a  canting  philosophy,  nor  from  a  foolish  ima- 
gination that  soldiers  will  ever  be  other  than  what  they  are. 
No  one  would  wish  to  see  them  imbued  with  the  lacrymose 
propensities  of  a  modern  hero  of  romance.  It  is  perhaps 
wisely  ordained,  that  those  who  fight  should  not  be  those 
who  feel.     Trans. 

•  Lorenzana,  p.  286. 


40  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE         [book  iii. 

^\^^ALYSls;^l  I-  Intendancy  of  Mexico. 

stood  the  house  of  such  or  such  a  Mexican  lord." 
Even  at  present  they  are  occupied  infiUing  and  drying 
up  the  old  canals  which  run  through  the  capital.  The 
number  of"  these  canals  has  diminished  in  a  particular 
manner  since  the  government  of  the  Count  de  Galvez, 
though  on  account  of  the  great  breadth  of  the  streets 
of  Mexico,  the  canals  are  less  inimical  to  the  passage 
of  carriages  than  in  the  most  part  of  the  cities  of 
Holland. 

We  may  reckon  among  the  small  remains  of 
Mexican  antiquities  which  interest  the  intelligent 
traveller,  either  in  the  bounds  of  the  city  of  Mexico, 
or  in  its  environs,  the  ruins  of  the  Aztec  dikes  (alba- 
radones)  and  aqueducts ;  the  stone  of  the  sacrifices, 
adorned  with  a  relievo  which  represents  the  triumph 
of  a  Mexican  king ;  the  great  calendar  monument ; 
(exposed  with  the  foregoing  at  the  Plaza  Mayor  ;)  the 
colossal  statue  of  the  goddess  Teoyaomiqui,  stretch- 
ed out  in  one  of  the  galleries  of  the  edifice  of  the  uni- 
versity, and  habitually  covered  with  three  or  four 
inches  of  earth  ;  the  Aztec  manuscripts,  or  hierogly- 
phical  pictures,  painted  on  agave  paper,  on  stag  skins 
and  cotton  cloth,  (a  valuable  collection  unjustly 
taken  away  from  the  Chevalier  Boturini,*  very  ill 
preserved  in  the  archives  of  the  palace  of '  the  vice- 
roys, displaying  in  every  figure  the  extravagant  ima- 
gination of  a  people  who  delighted  to  see  the  palpi- 
tating heart  of  human  victims  ofiered  up  to  gigan- 
tic and  monstrous  idols ;)  the  foundations  of  the  pa- 

*  The  author  of  the  ingenious  work,  Ydea  de  una  nuevu 
Historia  general  de  hi  America  Septentrional  por  el  Caballero 
Boturini.     jiuthor. 

Robertson  gives  a  character  of  this  book  somewhat  lower  ; 
"  His  idea  of  a  new  history  appears'  to  me  the  work  of  ;i 
whimsiciJ  credulous  man."    Vol.  iii.  note  36.     Trans. 


CHAP.  vui.J       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  41 

STATISTICAL^  T     r  -     ^  r  A/T 

ANALYSIS,    jl-  Intendancij  of  Mexico. 

lace  of  the  kings  of  Alcolhuacan  at  T€zcuco;,thc 
colossal  relievo  traced  on  the  western  face  of  the 
porphyritical  rock  called  the  Penol  de  los  Banos ;  as 
well  as  several  other  objects  which  recall  to  the  in- 
telligent observer  the  institutions  and  works  of  people 
of  the  Mongol  race,  of  which  descriptions  and  draw- 
ings will  be  given  in  the  historical  account  of  my  tra- 
vels to  the  equinoxial  regions  of  the  new  continent. 

The  only  ancient  monuments  in  the  Mexican 
valley,  which  from  their  size  ox  their  masses  can 
strike  the  eyes  of  a  European,  are  the  remains  of 
the  two  pyramids  of  San  Juan  de  Teotihuacan,  situa- 
ted to  the  north-east  of  the  lake  of  Tezcuco,  conse- 
crated to  the  sun  and  moon,  which  the  Indians  called 
Tonatiuh  Ytzaqual,  house  of  the  sun,  and  Metzli 
Ytzaqual,  house  of  the  moon.  According  to  the 
measurements  made  in  1803  by  a  young  Mexican 
savant,  Doctor  Otcyza,  the  first  pyramid,  which  is 
the  most  southern,  has  in  its  present  state  a  base  of 
208  metres*  (645  feet)  in  length,  and  55  metres  (66 
Mexican  vara,t  or  171  fectj)  of  perpendicular  ele- 
vation. The  second,  the  pyramid  of  the  moon,  is 
eleven  metres^  (30  feet)  lower,  and  its  base  is  much 
less.  These  monuments,  according  to  the  accounts 
of  the  first  travellers,  and  from  the  form  which  they 
yet  exhibit,  were  the  models  of  the  Aztec  teocallis. 
The  nations  whom  the  Spaniards  found  settled  in 
New  Spain  attributed  the  pyramids  of  Teotihuacan 

*  682  feet  English.     Trails^ 

t  Velasquez  found  that  the  Mexican  vara  contained  exactly 
31  inches  of  the  old  pied  du  roi  of  Paris.  The  nortliern  fa- 
9ade  of  the  Hotel  des  Invalides  at  Paris  is  only  600  feet  French 
in  length. 

i:   180  feet  English,      Trans. 
§  36  feet  English.      Trans* 
VOL.  II.  F 


42  POLltlCAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  hi.. 

ANALYSIS.    1  ^*  I^^t^^^dancy  of  Mexico. 

to  the  Toiiltec  nation  ;*  consequently  their  construc- 
tion goes  as  far  back  as  the  eighth  or  ninth  century  ; 
for  the  kingdom  of  Tolula  lasted  from  667  to  1031. 
The  faces  of  these  edifices  are  to  within  52'  exactly 
placed  from  north  to  south,  and  from  east  to  west. 
Their  interior  is  clay,  mixed  with  small  stones- 
This  kernel  is  covered  with  a  thick  wall  of  porous 
amygdaloid.  We  perceive,  besides,  traces  of  a  bed 
of  lime  which  covers  the  stones  (the  tetzontli)  on 
the  outside.  Several  authors  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury  pretend,  according  to  an  Indian  tradition,  that 
the  interior  of  these  pyramids  is  hollow.  Boturini 
says  that  Siguenza,  the  Mexican  geometrician,  in 
vain  endeavoured  to  pierce  these  edifices  by  a  gallery. 
They  formed  four  layers  of  which  three  are  only 
now  perceivable,  the  injuries  of  time  and  the  vegeta- 
tion of  the  cactus  and  agaves  having  exercised  their 
destructive  influence  on  the  exterior  of  these  monu- 
ments. A  stair  of  large  hewn  stones  formerly  led 
to  their  tops,  where,  according  to  the  accounts  of 
the  first  travellers,  were  statues  covered  with  very 
thin  lamina  of  gold.  Each  of  the  four  principal  lay- 
ers was  subdivided  into  small  gradations  of  a  metref 
in  height,  of  which  the  edges  are  still  distinguishable, 

*  Siguenza,  however,  in  his  manuscript  notes,  believes  them 
io  be  the  work  of  the  Ohuec  nation,  which  dwelt  round  the 
Sierra  de  Tlascala,  called  Matlacueje.  If  tliis  hypothesis, 
of  which  we  are  unacquainted  with  the  historical  foundations, 
be  true,  these  monuments  would  be  still  more  ancient.  For 
the  Ohnecs  belong  to  the  first  nations  mentioned  in  the  Aztec 
chronology  as  existing  in  New  Spain.  It  is  even  pretended 
that  the  Olmecs  are  the  only  nation  of  which  the  migration 
took  place,  not  from  the  north  and  north-west  (Mongol  Asia  ?) 
but  from  the  east  (Europe  ?). 

7  3  feet  3  inches.     Tram. 


CHAP.  VI n.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  43 

STATISTICAL^,     r  ,      /  /^  1/ 

ANALYSIS.    5  I-  Intendannj  of  Mexico. 

which  were  covered  with  fragments  of  obsidian,  tliat 
were  undoubtedly  the  edge  of  instruments  will) 
which  the  Toultec  and  Aztec  priests  in  their  barba- 
rous sacrifices  {Papahua  Tlemacazqiic  or  Teopixqui) 
opened  the  chest  of  the  human  victims.  We  know 
that  the  obsidian  (itztli)  was  the  object  of  the  great 
mining  undertakings,  of  which  we  still  see  tlie  traces 
in  an  innumerable  quantity  of  pits  between  the  mines 
of  Moran  and  the  village  Atotonilco  el  Grande,  in 
the  porphyry  mountains  of  Oyamel  and  the  Jacal,  a 
D'cgion  called  by  the  Spaniards  the  mountain  of  knives^ 
el  Cerro  de  las  Navajas.* 

It  would  be  undoubtedly  desirable  to  have  the 
question  resolved,  whether  these  curious  edifices,  of 
which  the  one,  {the  Tonatiuh  Ytzaqual^)  according  to 
the  accurate  measurement  of  my  iriend  M.  Oteyza, 
has  a  mass  of  128,970  cubic  toises,t  were  entirely 
constructed  by  the  hand  of  man,  or  whether  the 
Toultecs  took  advantage  of  some  natural  hill  which 
they  covered  over  with  stone  and  lime.  This  very 
question  has  been  recently  agitated  with  respect  to 
several  pyramids  of  Giza  and  Sacara  ;  and  it  has  be- 
come doubly  interesting  from  the  fantastical  hypothe- 
ses which  M,  Witte  has  thrown  out  as  to  the  origin 
of  the  monuments  of  colossal  form  in  Egypt,  Perse- 
polis,  and  Palmyra.  As  neither  the  pyramids  of  Teo- 
tihuacan,  nor  that  Cholula,  of  which  we  shall  after- 
wards  have  occasion  to  speak,  have  been  diametrically 
pierced,  it  is   impossible  to  speak  with  certainty  of 

*  I  found  the  height  of  trie  summit  of  the  Jacal  3,124  me- 
tres (10,248  feet;)  and  la  Rocca  de  las  Vcntanas  at  the  foot 
of  the  Cerro  dc  las  Navajas,  2,590  metres  (8,496  feet)  abov^ 
the  level  of  the  sea. 

t  33,743,201  cubic  feet      Tranf., 


44  POLlTICx\L  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  m. 

STATISTICAL  7  t    r  *     ^  /-  1T     • 

ANALYSIS.    5  ^*  intenaancy  of  Mexico, 

their  interior  structure.  The  Indian  traditions, 
from  which  they  are  believed  to  be  hollow,  are 
vague  and  contradictory.  Their  situation  in  plains 
■\vhere  no  other  hill  is  to  be  found  renders  it  extremely 
probable  that  no  natural  rock  serves  for  a  kernel  to 
these  monuments.  What  is  also  very  remarkable  (es- 
pecially if  we  call  to  mind  the  assertions  of  Fococke, 
as  to  the  symmetrical  position  of  the  lesser  pyramids 
of  Egypt)  is,  that  around  the  houses  of  the  sun  and 
moon  of  Teotithuacan  we  find  a  group,  I  may  say  a 
system,  of  pyramids,  of  scarcely  nine  or  ten  metres  of 
elevation.*  These  monuments,  of  which  there  are 
several  hundreds,  are  disposed  in  very  large  streets 
which  follow  exactly  the  direction  of  the  parallels, 
and  of  the  meridians,  and  which  terminate  in  the  four 
faces  of  the  two  great  pyramids.  The  lesser  pyra- 
mids are  more  frequent  towards  the  southern  side 
of  the  temple  of  the  moon  than  towards  the  temple 
of  the  sun  :  and,  according  to  the  tradition  of  the 
country,  they  were  dedicated  to  the  stars.  It  appears 
certain  enough  that  they  served  as  burying  places  for 
the  chiefs  of  tribes.  All  the  plain  which  the  Spa- 
niards, from  a  word  of  the  language  of  the  island  of 
Cuba,  call  Llano  de  los  Cues,  bore  formerly  in  the 
Aztec  and  Toultec  languages  the  name  of  Micaotl, 
or  road  of  the  dead.  What  analogies  with  the  monu- 
ments of  the  old  continent !  And  this  Toultec  peo- 
ple, who,  on  arriving  in  the  seventh  century  on  the 
Mexican  soil,  constructed  on  a  uniform  plan  several 
of  those  colossal  monuments,  those  truncated  pyra- 
mids divided  by  layers,  like  the  temple  of  Belus  at 
Babylon,  whence  did  they  take  the  model  of  these 
edifices  ?     Were  they  of  Mongol  race  ?     Did  they 

*  29  or  32  feet.     Trans. 


CHAP.viii.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  4.5 

STATISTICAL  7  T     T*     j  />  H/r 

ANALYSIS.    5 1-  Intetidancij  of  Mexico. 

descend  from  a  common  stock*  with  the  Chinese, 
tlic  Hiong-nu,  and  the  Japanese? 

Another  ancient  monument,  worthy  of  the  travel- 
ler's attention,  is  the  miHtary  intrenchment  of  Xo- 
chicalco,  situated  to  the  S.  S.AV.  of  the  town  of  Cu- 
ernavaca,  near  Tetlama,  belonging  to  the  parish  of 
Xochitepeque.  It  is  an  insulated  hill  of  117  metres 
of  elevation,  surrounded  Avith  ditches  or  trenches, 
and  divided  by  the  hand  of  man  into  five  terraces  co- 
vered with  masonr}%  The  whole  forms  a  truncated 
pyramid,  of  which  the  four  faces  are  exactly  laid 
down  according  to  the  four  cardinal  points.  The 
porphyry  stones,  with  basaltic  bases,  are  of  a  very  re- 
gular cut,  and  are  adorned  with  hieroglyphicai  figures/ 
among  which  are  to  be  seen  crocodiles  spouting  up 
water,  and,  what  is  very  curious,  men  sitting  cross- 
legged  in  the  Asiatic  manner.  Tlie  platform  of  this 
extraordinary  monunientt  contains  more  than  9,000 
square  metres,|  and  exhibits  the  ruins  of  a  small 
square  edifice,  which  undouijtcdly  served  for  a  last 
retreat  to  the  besieged. 

I  shall  conclude  this  rapid  view  of  the  Aztec  anti- 
quities with  pointing  out  a  few  places  Avliich  may  be 
called  classical,  on  account  of  the  interest  they  ex- 
cite in  those  vvho  have  studied  the  history  of  the 
Spanish  conquest  of  Mexico. 

*  See  a  work  of  Mr.  Herders  :  Idea  of  a  Philosophical 
History  of  the  Human  Species,  Vol.  II.  page  11,  (in  German,) 
and  Essay  towards  a  Universal  History  by  M.  Gatterer,  p. 
489,  (in  German.) 

t  Descripcion  de  las  antiguedades  dc  Xochicalco  dedicada 
a  los  Senores  de  la  Expcdicion  maritima  baxo  las  ordenes  dc 
Don  Alexandre  Malaspina,  por  Don  Jose  Antonio  Alzarc. 
Mexico,  1791,  p.  12. 

I  96,825  square  feet.      Trana. 


4^  POLITICAL  ESSAt  ON  THE  [book  uu 

STATISTICAL  >  t     7"  *     ^  /•;?/• 

ANALYSIS.    5  *•  Intenaancy  of  Mexico, 

The  palace  of  Motezuma  occupied  the  very  sam« 
site  on  which  at  present  stands  the  hotel  of  the  Duke 
de  Monteleone,  vulgarly  called  Casa  del  Estado,  in 
the  Plaza  Mayor,  S,  W.  from  the  cathedral.     This 
palace,    like   those    of  the  Emperor  of   China,   of 
which  we  have  accurate  descriptions  from  Sir  George 
Staunton  and  M.  Barrow,  was  composed  of  a  great 
number  of  spacious,  but  very  low  houses.     They 
occupied  the  whole  extent  of  ground   between  the 
Einpedradillo,  the  great  street  of  Tacuba,  and  the 
convent  de  la  Professa.     Cortez,  after  the  taking  of 
the  city,  fixed  his  abode  opposite  to  tli.e  ruins  of  the 
palace  of  the  Aztec  kings,  vvh^re  the  palace  of  the 
viceroy  Is  now  situated.     But  it  was  soon  thought 
that  the  house  of  Cortez  was  more  suitable  ibr  the 
assemblies   of  the  audiencia,  and  the  government 
consequently  made  the  family  of  Cortez  resign  the 
Casa  del  Estado,  or  the  old  hotel  belonging  to  them. 
This  family,  which  bears  the  title  of  the  Marquesado 
del  Vallc  de  Oaxaca^  received  in  exchange  the  situa- 
tion of  the  ancient  palace  of  Montezuma,  and  they 
there  constructed  the  line  edifice  in  which  the  archives 
del  Estado  are  kept,  and  which  descended  with  the 
rest  of  the  heritage  to  the  Neapolitan  Duke  de  Mon- 
teleone, 

At  the  first  entry  of  Cortez  into  Tenochtitlan  on 
the  8th  November,  1519,  he  and  his  small  army 
were  lodged,  not  in  the  palace  of  Montezuma,  but 
in  an  edifice  formerly  possessed  by  King  Axajacatl. 
It  was  in  this  edifice  that  the  Spaniards  and  the  Tlas- 
caltecs,  their  allies,  sustained  the  assault  of  the  Mexi- 
cans ;  it  v/as  there  that  the  unfortunate  King  Mote- 
zuma* perished  of  the  consequences  of  a  wound 

*  It  is  from  one  of  his  sons,  called  Tohualicahuatzin^  and 
after  baptism  Don  Pedro  Motezumuy  that  the  Counts  of  Mo- 
4 


CHAP,  viii]  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  /^l 

^  analysis!^]  I-  Intendancij  of  Mexico. 

which  he  received  in  haranguing  his  people.  Wc  still 
perceive*  inconsiderable  remains  ol  these  quarters  of 
the  Spiuiiards  in  the  ruins  behind  the  convent  of  Santa 
Teresa,  at  the  corner  of  the  streets  of  Tacuba  and 
del  Indio  Triste. 

A  small  bridge  near  Bonavista  preserves  the  name 
of  Alvarado's  Leap,  (Sallo  de  Alvarado,)  in  memory 
of  the  prodigious  leap  of  the  valorous  Don  Pedro  de 
Alvarado,  Avhen,  in  the  famous  melancholy  mght,^ 
the  dike  of  Tlacopan  having  been  cut  in  several 
places  by  the  Mexicans,  the  Spaniards  withdrew 
from  the  city  to  the  moimtains  of  Tepeyacac.  It  ap- 
pears that  even  in  the  time  of  Cortez  the  historical 
truth  of  this  fact  was  disputed,  which,  from  the  po- 
puliir  tradition,  is  familiar  to  every  class  of  the  inha-= 
bitants  of  Mexico.  Bernal  Diaz  considers  the  his- 
tory of  the  leap  as  a  mere  boast  of  his  companion  in 
arms,  of  whose  courage  and  presence  of  mind  he, 
however,  els,ewhere  makes  honourable  mention.    He 

tezuma  and  Tula,  in  Spaiu,  are  descended.  The  Cano  Mo« 
tezuma,  the  Andrade  Motezuma,  and,  if  I  am  not  mistaken, 
even  the  Counts  of  Miravalle,  at  Mexico,  trace  back  their 
origin  to  the  beautiful  princess  Tecuichfiotzin,  the  youngest 
daughter  of  the  last  King  Motezuma  II.  or  Moteuczoma. 
Xocojptzin.  The  descendants  of  this  king  did  not  mingle  their 
blood  with  the  whites  till  the  second  generation. 

*  The  proofs  of  this  assertion  are  contained  in  the  manu* 
scripts  of  M.  Gama,  at  the  convent  of  San  Felipe  Neri,  in 
the  hands  of  Father  Pichardo.  The  palace  of  Axajacatl  was 
probably  a  vast  enclosure,  which  contained  several  edifices ; 
lor  nearly  seven  thousand  men  were  quartered  there.  (Cla- 
vigero,  iii.  p.  79.)  The  ruinr,  of  the  city  of  Mansighe,  in 
Peru,  give  us  a  clear  idea  of  this  species  of  American  con- 
struction. Every  habitation  of  a  great  lord  formed  a  separate 
district,  in  which  the  courts,  streets,  walls,  and  ditches  were 
distinguished. 

t  .Voche  tri^te^  July  1,   1520. 


48  POUTiCAL  ESSA.Y  ON 'iHli  [uogst  lu,. 

'*'ANAL?l?a''ll-  Intendcncy  of  Mexico. 

affirms,  that  the  ditch  was  much  too  broad  to  be 
passed  at  a  leap.  I  have,  however,  to  observe,  that 
this  anecdote  is  very  minutely  related  in  the  manu- 
script of  a  noble  Mestizo  of  the  republic  of  Tlas- 
cala,  Diego  Munoz  Camargo,  which  I  consulted  at 
the  convent  of  San  Felipe  Neri,  and  of  which  Fa- 
ther Torquemada*  appears  also  to  have  had  some 
knowledge.  This  Mestizo  historian  was  the  co- 
temporary  of  Hernan  Cortez.  He  relates  the  history 
of  Alvarado's  leap  with  much  simplicity,  without  any 
appearance  of  exaggeration,  and  without  mentioning 
the  breadth  of  the  ditch.  We  imagine  we  perceive 
in  his  naive  recital  one  of  the  heroes  of  antiquity, 
who,  with  his  shoulder  and  arm  supported  on  his 
lance,  takes  an  enoi'mous  leap  to  escape  from  the 
hands  of  his  enemies.  Canuirgo  adds,  that  other 
Spaniards  wished  to  follow  the  example  of  Alvara- 
do,  but  that,  having  less  agility  than  he  had,  they 
fell  into  the  ditch,  {azequia.)  The  Mexicans,  says 
he,  were  so  astonished  at  the  address  of  Alvarado, 
that  on  seeing  him  make  his  escape,  they  bit  the 
earth,  (a  figurative  expression  which  the  Tlascaltec 
author  borrowed  from  his  language,  and  which  sig- 

*  Monarquia  Indiana.,  lib.  iv.  cap.  80.  Clax'igero,  i,  p.  10.^ 
There  stiii  exist  in  Mexico  and  Spain  several  historical  manu- 
scripts of  the  16th  century,  of  which  the  publication  by  ex- 
tract would  throw  much  light  on  the  history  of  Anahuac. 
Such  are  the  manuscripts  of  Sahagun,  Motolinia,  Andrea  dc 
Olmos,  Zurita,  Josef  Tobar,  Fernando  Pimentel  IxtlilxochitI, 
Antonio  Motezuma,  Antonio  Pimentl  IxtlilxochitI,  Taddeo 
de  Niza,  Gabriel  d'Ayala,  Zapata,  Ponce,  Cl^ristophe  de  Cas- 
tillo, Fernando  Alba  IxtlilxochitI,  Pomar,  Chimalpain,  Alva- 
rado  Tezozomoc,  and  Guttericz.  All  these  authors,  with  the 
exception  of  the  five  first,  were  baptized  Indians,  natives  ol 
Tluscaia,  Tczcuco,  Cholula,  and  Mexico.  The  ixtlilxochiUs 
descended  from  the  royal  fiimily  oi"  Alcohuacau. 


CHAP.yili.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  49 

^ANALYsTs^^ll.  Intendancij  of  New  Mexico, 

nifies  being  stupified  with  admiration.*)  "  The 
children  of  Alvarado,  who  was  called  the  Capitan  del 
Salto,  proved  by  witnesses  before  the  judges  of  Tez- 
cuco  the  prowess  of  their  father.  To  this  they  were 
compelled  by  a  process  in  which  they  demonstrated 
the  exploits  of  yllvarado  de  el  Salto,  their  father,  at  the 
period  of  the  conquest  of  Mexico." 

Strangers  are  shown  the  bridge  of  Clcrigo,  near 
the  Plazu  Mayor  de  I'latelolco,  as  the  memorable 
place  where  the  last  Aztec  king,  Quauhtemotzin, 
nephew  of  his  predecessor.  King  Cnitlahuatzin,t 
and  son-in-law  of  Motezuma  II.  was  taken.  But  the 
result  of  the  most  careful  researches  which  myself  and 
Father  Pichardo  could  make  was,  that  the  young 
king  fell  into  the  hands  of  Garci  Holguin,|  in  a  great 
basin  of  water  which  was  formerly  between  the  Ga- 

*  There  is  such  a  thing,  perhaps,  as  explaining  too  much.' 
Few  of  M.  Humboldt's  reudcrs,  I  dure  say,  will  be  led  to  con- 
ceive, that  the  Mexicans  fell  literally  to  the  eating  of 
earth.  There  are  bounds  to  commenting,  which  a  salutary- 
dread  of  prolixity  should  impress  on  every  writer,  but  which, 
unfortunately,  the  countrymen  of  M.  de  Humboldt  (Germans) 
seem  seldom  to  have  a  clear  conception  of.  I  shall  make  myself 
sufliciently  understood  when  I  allude  to  the  prolixity  of  their 
most  celebrated  writers,  their  Herders,  Gentzes,  and  Wie- 
lands.      Trans. 

t  This  king,  Cuitlahuatzin,  (whom  Solis  and  the  other  Eu- 
ropean historians,  who  confound  all  the  IMexican  names,  call 
Quetlabaca,)  Avas  the  brother  and  successor  of  Motezuma 
11.  He  is  the  same  prince  who  displayed  so  much  taste  for 
gardening;  and  who,  according  to  the  recital  of  Cortez,  made 
the  collection  of  rare  plants,  v,hich  were  long  admired  after 
his  death,  at  Iztapalapan. 

%  On  the  3 1st  August,  1521,  the  75th  day  of  the  siege  of 
Tenochtitlan,  and  Saint  Hyppolitus's  day.  The  same  day  is 
still  celebrated  every  year  by  a  tour  round  the  city  by  the 
viceroy  and  oidorca  on  horseback,  follov>ine  the  standard. 

VOL.  IT.  f7 


50  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE         [book  hi. 

STATISTICAL^T      r*     ^  r  T\r 

ANALYSIS.    5  1*  Intendancy  of  Mexico, 

rita  del  Peralvillo,  the  square  of  Santiago  de  Tlate- 
lolco,  and  the  bridge  of  Amaxac.  Cortez  happened 
to  be  on  the  terrace  of  a  house  of  Tlatelolco  when 
the  young  king  was  brought  a  prisoner  to  him.  "  I 
made  him  sit  down,"  says  the  conqueror,  in  his  third 
letter  to  the  Emperor  Charles  V.  "  and  I  treated  him 
with  confidence  ;  but  the  young  man  put  his  hand  on 
the  poniard  which  I  wore  at  my  side,  and  exhorted 
ine  to  kill  him,  because,  since  he  had  done  all  that 
his  duty  to  himself  and  his  people  demanded  of  him, 
he  had  no  other  desire  but  death."  This  trait  is  wor- 
thy o£  the  best  days  of  Greece  and  Rome.  Under 
every  zone,  and  whatever  be  the  colour  of  men,  the 
language  of  energetic  minds  struggling  with  misfor- 
tune is  the  same.  We  have  already  seen  what  was 
the  tragical  end  of  this  unfortunate  Quauhtemotzin. 

After  the  entire  destruction  of  the  ancient  Tenoch- 
titlan,  Cortez  remained  with  his  people  for  four  or 
live  months  at  Cojohuacan,*  a  place  for  which  he 
constantly  displayed  a  great  predilection.  He  was 
at  first  uncertain  whether  he  should  reconstruct  the 
capital  on  some  other  spot  around  the  lakes.  He 
at  last  determined  on  the  old  situation,  "  because  the 
city  of  Tcmixtitlan  had  acquired  celebrity,  because 
its  position  was  delightful,  and  because  in  all  times 
it  had  been  considered  as  the  head  of  the  Mexican 
provinces,"  (como  principal  y  senora  de  todas  estas 
provinclas.)  It  cannot,  however,  admit  of  a  doubt, 
that  on  account  of  the  frequent  inundations  suffered 
by  Old  and  New  Mexico,  it  would  have  been  better 
to  have  rebuilt  the  city  to  the  east  of  Tezcuco,  or 
on  the  heights  between  Tacuba  and  Tacubaya.f  The 

*  Lorenzana,  p.  307. 

t   Cisneros  clescrificioii  del  silio  en    el  qual  se  halla  Mexico. 
Alzate    Tofw^ra/ihia    de   Mexico,    (Gazetta    de    Litteratura, 


CHAP,     viii.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  5X 

^^ANALras^^jI-  ^^^tendancy  of  Mexico. 

capital  was,  in  fact,  about  to  be  transferred  to  these 
heights  b}'  a  formal  edict  of  King  Philip  III.,  al  the 
period  of  the  great  inundution  in  1607.  The  ajim- 
tamiento,  or  magistracy  of  tlic  city,  represented  to  the 
court  that  the  value  of  the  houses  condemned  to  de- 
struction amounted  to  105  millions  of  francs.*  They 
appeared  to  be  ignorant  at  Madrid  that  the  capital  of 
a  kingdom,  constructed  for  more  than  88  years,  is 
not  a  flying  camp,  which  may  be  changed  at  will. 

It  is  impossible  to  determine  with  any  certainty 
the  number  of  inhabitants  of  old  Tenochtitlan.  Were 
we  to  judge  from  the  fragments  of  ruined  houses, 
and  the  recital  of  the  first  conquerors,  and  especially 
from  the  number  of  the  combatants  whom  the  kings 
Cuitlahuatzin  and  Quauhtemotzin  opposed  to  the 
Tlascaltecs  and  Spaniards,  we  should  pronounce  the 
population  of  Tenochtitlan  three  times  greater  than  that 
of  Mexico  in  our  days.  Cortez  asserts,  that  after  the 
siege  the  concourse  of  Mexican  artisans  who  wrought 
for  the  Spaniards,  as  carpenters,  masons,  weavers, 
and  founders,  was  so  enormous,  that  in  1524  the  new 

1790,  p.  32.)  The  most  part  of  the  great  cities  of  the 
Spanish  colonies,  however  new  their  appearance  may  be,  are 
in  disagreeable  situations.  I  do  not  here  speak  of  the  site  of 
Caraccas,  Quito,  Pas  to,  and  several  other  cities  of  South  Ame- 
rica, but  merely  of  the  Mexican  cities  ;  for  example,  Valla- 
dolid,  which  might  hare  been  built  in  the  beautiful  valley  of 
Tepare  ;  Guadalaxara,  which  is  quite  near  the  delightful  plain 
of  the  Rio  Chiconahuatenco,  or  San  Pedro  ;  Pazcuaro,  which 
we  cannot  help  wishing  to  have  been  built  at  Tzintzontza. 
One  would  say  that  everywhere  the  new  colonists  of  two  ad- 
joining places  have  uniformly  chosen  either  the  one  most 
mountainoHs,  or  most  exposed  to  inundations.  But  indeed 
ihe  Spaniards  have  constructed  almost  no  new  cities;  they 
merely  inhabited  or  enlarged  those  wliioh  were  already 
founded  by  the  Indians. 

t  ^..sys.SSO/.  sterling.     Tram. 


52  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  in. 

^"ANALYsf^^]  I-  Intendancy  of  Mexico. 

city  of  Mexico  already  numbered  thirty  thousand 
inhabitants.  Modern  authors  have  thrown  out  the 
most  contrqdictory  ideas  regarding  the  population  of 
this  capital.  The  Abbe  Clavigero,  in  his  excellent 
work  on  the  ancient  history  of  New  Spain,  proves 
that  these  estimations  vary  from  sixty  thousand  to  a 
million  and  a  half  of  inhabitants.*  We  ought  not 
to  be  astonished  at  these  contradictions  when  we  con- 
sider how  new  statistical  researches  are  even  in  the 
most  cultivated  parts  of.  Europe. 

According  to  the  most  recent  and  least  uncertain 
data,  the  actual  population  of  the  capital  of  Mexico 
appears  to  be  (including  the  troops)  from  135  to 
140,000  souls.  The  enumeration  in  1790,  by  orders 
of  the  Count  de  Revillagigedo,  gave  a  resultf  of  only 
112,926  inhabitants  for  the  city;  but  we  know  that 
this  result  is  one- sixth  below  the  truth.  The  regular 
troops  and  militia  in  garrison  in  the  capital  are  com- 
posed of  from  5  to  6,000  men  in  arms.  We  may 
admit  with  great  probability,  that  the  actual  popula* 
tion  consists  of 

2,500  white  Europeans. 
65,000  white  Creoles. 
33,000  indigenous  (copper-coloured.) 
26,500  Mestizoes,  mixture  of  whites  and  Indians. 
10,000  Mulattoes. 


137,000  Inhabitants, 

There  are  consequently  in  Mexico  69,500  men 
of  colour,  and  67,500  whites ;  but  a  great  number 


*  Clavigero,  iv;  p.  278.  note  /i. 

+  See  note  C.  at  the  end  of  the  work. 


CHAP.  VIII.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  53 

^ ANALYsfs^^l  I.  Litendancy  of  Mexico. 

of  the  Mestizoes  are  almost  as  white  as  the  Euro- 
peans and  Spanish  Creoles ! 

In  the  twenty-three  male  convents  which  the  capi- 
tal contains  there  are  nearly  1,200  individuals,  of 
whom  5aO  are  priests  and  choristers.  In  the  fifteen 
female  convents  there  are  2,100  individuals,  of  whom 
nearly  900  are  professed  religieuses. 

The  clergy  of  the  city  of  Mexico  is  extremely 
numerous,  though  less  numerous  by  one-fourth  than 
at  Madrid.     The  enumeration  of  1790  gives 

Individuals. 
C  573  priests  and  choristers.  ^ 
In  the   convents  1    59  novices.  C  867 

of  monks,      ^235  lay  brothers.  ) 

In  the   convents  \  888  professed  religieuses.  /         g-. 
of  nuns,  1    35  novices.  V 

Prebendaries  26 

Parish  priests,  [cures.)  16 

Curates  43 

Secular  ecclesiastics  517 


Total  2,392 

and  without  including  lay  brothers  and  novices, 
2,068.  The  clergy  of  Madrid,  according  to  the  ex- 
cellent work  of  M.  de  Laborde,*  is  composed  of 
3,470  persons,  consequently  the  clergy  is  to  tlic 
whole  population  of  Mexico  as  1  1-2  to  100,  and  at 
Madrid  as  2  to  100. 

We  have  already  given  a  view  of  the  revenues  of 

*  This  excellent  work  of  Laborde,  it  is  worth  while  to  re- 
mark, received  several  contributions  from  M.  de  Humboldt. 
Travf!, 


54  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  xii. 

^^^ALvSa^}^*  Intendancy  of  Mexico. 

the  Mexican  clergy.  The  archbishop  of  Mexico 
possesses  a  revenue  of  682,500  livres.*  This  sum 
is  somewhat  less  than  the  revenue  of  the  convent  of 
Jeronimites  of  the  Escurial.  An  archbishop  of 
Mexico  is,  consequently,  much  poorer  than  the 
archbishops  of  Toledo,  Valencia,  Seville,  and  San- 
tiago. The  first  of  these  possesses  a  revenue  of 
three  millions  of  livres.t  However  M.  de  Laborde 
has  proved,  and  the  fact  is  by  no  means  generally 
known,  that  the  clergy  of  France  before  the  revolu- 
tion w^as  more  numerous,  compared  to  the  total  popu- 
lation, and  richer  as  a  body,  than  the  Spanish  clergy. 
The  revenues  of  the  tribunal  of  inquisition  of  Mexi- 
co, a  tribunal  which  extends  over  the  whole  kingdom 
of  New  Spain,  Guatimala,  and  the  Philippine  Islands, 
amount  to  200,000  livres.J 

The  number  of  births  at  Mexico,  for  a  mean  term 
of  100  years,  is  5,930 ;  and  the  number  of  deaths 
5,050.  In  the  year  1802  there  were  even  6,155 
births  and  5,166  deaths,  which  would  give,  supposing 
a  population  of  137,000  souls,  for  every  22  1-2  indi- 
viduals, one  birth,  and  for  every  26  1-2  one  death* 
We  have  already  seen  in  the  fourth  chapter,  that  in 
the  country  they  reckon  in  general  in  New  Spain  the 
relation  of  the  births  to  the  population  §  as  one  to 
17 ;  and  the  relation  of  the  deaths  to  the  population 

*  18,420/,  sterling-.   Trans.        f  125,000/.  sterling.      Trans. 

%  8,334/.  sterling.     Trans. 

§  In  France  the  relation  of  the  births  to  the  deaths  is  such, 
that  on  the  totality  of  the  population  only  one  30th  annually 
dies,  while  there  is  born  one  28th.  Peuchet  Statistiquc,  p. 
251.  In  cities  this  proportion  depends  on  a  concurrence  of 
local  and  variable  circumstances.  In  1786  there  were  reckon- 
ed in  London  18,119  births,  and  20,454  deaths  ;  and  in  1802. 
at  Paris,  21,818  births,  and  20.590  deaths. 

1 


GHAP.  VIII.]        KINGDOM  OF  NFAV  tiPAIN.  55 

^  ANALYSIS^^I  I-  Irnendancy  of  New  Mexico, 

as  one  to  30.  There  is  consequently,  in  appearance, 
a  verj'  great  mortality  and  a  very  small  number  of 
births  in  the  capital.  The  conflux  of  patients  to  the 
city  is  considerable,  not  only  of  the  most  indigent 
class  of  the  people  who  seek  assistance  in  the  hospi- 
tals, of  which  the  number  of  beds  amount  to  1,100, 
but  also  of  persons  in  easy  circumstances,  who  are 
brought  to  Mexico  because  neither  advice  nor  reme- 
dies can  be  procured  in  the  country.  This  circum- 
stance accounts  for  the  great  number  of  deaths  on 
the  parish  registers.  On  the  other  hand,  the  con- 
vents, the  celibacy  of  the  secular  clerg}%*  the  pro- 
gress of  luxury,  the  militia,  and  the  indigence  of  the 
Saragates  Indians,  who  live  like  the  Lazaroni  of 
Naples  in  idleness,  are  the  principal  causes  which  in- 
fluence the  disadvantasreous  relation  of  the  births  to 
the  population. 

MM.  Alzate  and  Clavigero,t  from  a  comparison 
of  the  parish  registers  of  Mexico  with  those  of  se- 
veral  European  cities,  have  endeavoured  to  prove 
that  the  capital  of  New  Spain  must  contain  more 
than  200,000  inhabitants  ;  but  how  can  we  suppose 
in  the  enumeration  of  1790  an  eiTor  of  87,000  souls, 

*  From  this  mode  of  expression  one  would  be  led  to  ima- 
gine that  the  regular  clergy  did  not  live  in  celibacy.  What 
they  may  contribute  to  the  population  more  than  the  secular 
clergy  will  not  be  easy  to  ascertain,  but  their  title  is  presu- 
med to  be  precisely  the  same.     Trans. 

t  The  Abbe  Clavigero  falls  into  an  error  when  he  says, 
'•  that  an  enumeration  gave  more  than  200,000  souls  to  the 
city  of  Mexico."  He  says,  however,  very  truly,  that  the 
births  and  deaths  of  Mexico  generally  amount  to  a  fourth 
more  than  those  of  Madrid.  In  fact,  in  1788  the  number  of 
births  at  Madrid  was  4,897,  and  the  deaths  5,915  ;  and  in  1797 
•here  were  4,441  deaths,  and  4,9 11  births.  (Jlexaridre  de  Ji>- 
■yordc,  ii.  p.   102.) 


56  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  book  ui. 

^\kalys?s^^1  ^'  ^^^^^dancy  of  Mexico. 

more  than  two-fifths  of  the  whole  population  ?  Be- 
sides, the  comparisons  of  these  two  learned  Mexi- 
cans can  from  their  nature  lead  to  no  certain  results, 
because  the  cities  of  which  they  exhibit  the  bills  of 
mortality  are  situated  in  very  different  elevations  and 
climates,  and  because  the  state  of  civilization  and 
comfort  of  the  great  mass  of  their  inhabitants  afford 
the  most  striking  contrasts.  At  Madrid  the  births 
are  one  in  34,  and  at  Berlin  one  in  28.  The  one  of 
these  proportions,  can  no  more,  however,  than  the 
other  be  applicable  to  calculations  regarding  the  po- 
pulation of  the  cities  of  equinoxial  America.  Yet 
the  difference  between  these  proportions  is  so  great, 
that  it  would  alone,  on  an  annual  number  of  6,000 
births,  augment  or  diminish  to  the  extent  of  36,000 
souls  the  population  of  the  city  of  Mexico.  The 
number  of  deaths  or  births  is,  perhaps,  the  best  of 
all  means  for  detennining  the  number  of  the  inhabi- 
tants of  a  district,  when  the  numbers  which  express 
the  relations  of  the  births  and  deaths  to  the  whole  po- 
pulation in  a  given  country  have  been  carefully  ascer- 
tained ;  but  these  numbers,  the  result  of  a  long  in- 
duction, can  never  be  applied  to  countries  whose  phy- 
sical and  moral  situation  are  totally  different.  They 
denote  the  medium  state  of  prosperity  of  a  mass  of 
population,  of  which  the  greatest  part  dwell  in  the 
country  ;  and  we  cannot,  therefore,  avail  ourselves  of 
tliese  proportions  to  ascertain  the  number  of  inhabi- 
tants of  a  capital. 

Mexico  is  the  most  populous  city  of  the  new  con- 
tinent. It  contains  nearly  40,000  inhabitants  fewer 
than  Madrid  ;"^  and  as  it  forms  a  great   square  of 

tThc  population  of  INIadrid  (says  M.  de  I^aborde)  is 
"  156,272  iuhubitaiUs.  Honevcr,  with  the  gaiTison,    strangers 


CHAP,  vui.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  57 

^YnalySs^^II-  Jntendaiicy  of  Mexico. 

which  each  side  is  neaily  2,750  metres,*  its  popula- 
tion is  spread  over  a  great  extent  of  ground.  The 
streets  being  very  spacious,  they  in  general  appear 
rather  deserted.  They  are  so  much  the  more  so,  as 
in  a  climate  considered  as  cold  by  the  inhabitants  of 
the  tropics,  people  expose  themselves  less  to  the  free 
air  than  in  the  cities  at  die  foot  of  the  Cordillera. 
Hence  the  Luter  [ciudades  dc  ticrra  caliente)  appear 
uniformly  more  populous  than  the  cities  of  the  tem- 
perate or  cold  regions  (ciudades  de  tierra  fria.)  If 
Mexico  contains  more  inhabitants  than  any  of  the 
cities  of  Great  Britain  and  France,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  London,  Dub!in,  and  Paris ;  on  the  other 
hand,  its  population  is  much  less  than  that  of  the 
great  cities  of  the  Levant  and  East  Indies.  Calcutta, 
Surat,  Madras,  Aleppo,  and  Damascus,  contain  all  of 
them  from  two  to  four  and  even  six  hundred  thousand 
inhabitants. 

The  Count  de  Revillagigedo  set  on  foot  accurate 
researches  into  the  consumption  of  Mexico.  The 
following  table,  drawn  up  in  1791,  may  be  interest- 
ing to  those  who  have  a  knowledge  of  the  important 
operatit)ns  of  MM.  Lavoisier  and  Arnould,  relative 
to  the  consumption  of  Paris  and  all  France. 

CONSUMPTION  OF  MEXICO. 

X  EATABLES. 

Beeves  -  -  16,300 

Calves  -  -  -  4.50 

and  Spaniards  who  flock  in  from  the  provinces,  the  popula- 
tion may  be  carried  to  200,000  souls."  The  greatest  length 
of  Mexico  is  nearly  3,900  metres,  (12,794  English  feet ;)  rf 
Paris,  8,000  metres,  (26,346  English  feet.) 

*  9,021  feet.     Trans, 
VOL.  II.  H 


^g  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  hi, 

^j^NAL™&^]'-  Intendancij  of  Mexico. 


Sheep 

278,923 

Hogs 

50,676 

Kids  and  Rabbits 

24,000 

Fowls 

1,255,340 

Ducks 

125,000 

Turkeys 

205,000 

Pigeons 

65,300 

Partridges 

140,000 

II.  GRAIN. 

Maize  or  Turkey  wheat,  cargas 

of  three  fanegas 

117,224 

Barley,  cargas 

40,219 

III.  LIQUIDS. 

Wheat  flour,  cargas  of  12 

arrobas* 

130,000 

Pulque,  the  fermented  juice 

of  the  agava,  cargas 

294,790 

Wine  and  vinegar,  barrels  of 

4  1-2  arrobas 

4,507 

Brandy,  barrels 

12,000 

Spanish   oil,  arrobas  of  25 

pounds 

5,585 

Supposing,  with  M.  Peuchet,  the  population  of  Paris 
to  be  four  times  greater  than  that  of  Mexico,  we 
shall  find  that  the  consumption  of  beef  is  nearly  pro- 
portional to  the  number  of  inhabitants  of  the  two 
cities,  but  that  that  of  mutton  and  pork  is  infinitely 
more  at  Mexico.     The  difference  is  as  follows : 

*  Flour  is  not  certainly  a  liquid  ;  |Dut  it  is  probably  classed 
among  the  liquidS)  as  being  sold  by  liquid  measure.     Trans. 


i 


CHAP.  VIII.}  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  i^y 

STATISTICAL 7  t     T"  *     ,7  r  TiyT 

ANALYSIS.    3  I-  Intendancij  of  Mexico. 


Consul) 

iplioii 

Quadruple 
of  the 

Of  Mexico, 

Of  Paris. 

consumption 
of  Mexico. 

Beeves 

lt"),5tXJ 

70,000 

65,200 

Sheep 

27.'>,000 

350,000 

1,116,000 

Hos^s 

50,100 

35,000 

200,400 

M.  Lavoisier  found  by  his  calculations  that  the  in- 
habitants of  Paris  consumed  annually  in  his  time  90 
millions  of  pounds,  of  animal  food  of  all  sorts,  whicli 
amounts  to  163  pounds*  (79  7-10  kiloi^rammcs)  per 
individual.  In  estimating  the  animal  food  yielded  by 
the  animals  designated  in  the  preceding  table,  acr 
cording  to  the  principles  of  Lavoisier,  modified  ac  - 
cording  to  the  localities,  the  consumption  of  Mexico 
in  every  sort  of  meat  is  26  millions  of  pounds,  or 
189  pounds  (4-10  kilogrammes!')  per  individual. 
This  difference  is  so  nriuch  the  more  remarkable  as 
the  population  of  Mexico  includes  33,000  Indians, 
who  consume  very  little  animal  food. 

Thq,  consumption  of  wine  has  greatly  increased 
sinte  179],  especially  since  the  introduction  of  the 
Brownonian'system  in  the  practice  of  the  Mexican 
physicians.  The  enthusiasm  with  which  this  systera 
was  received  in  a  country  where  asthcnical  or  debili- 
tating remedies  had  been  employed  to  an  excess  for 
ages,  produced,  according  to  the  testimony  of  all  the 
merchants  of  Vera  Cruz,  the  most  remarkable  effect 
on  the  trade  in  luscious  Spanish  wines  {v'ms  liquo' 

*  175  9-lOlb.  avoird.      Trajrsi. 

t  20411).  avoird.  The  author  has  omitted  to  insert  the  inte- 
gral number  of  kilogrammes.  I  have  merely  converted  the 
French  pounds  into  avoirdupois,  and  le.ft  the  error  of  the  text^ 
as  I  found  it.     Trans. 


50  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  ui. 

^  AiSl™S^^]^-  Intendancy  of  Mexico, 

reux.)  These  wines,  hov/cver,  are  only  drunk  by 
the  wealthy  class  of  the  inhabitants.  The  Indians, 
Mestizoes,  Mulattoes,  and  even  the  greatest  number 
of  white  Creoles,  prefer  the  fermented  juice  of  the 
agave,  called  pulque^  of  which  there  is  annually  con- 
sumed the  enormous  quantity  of  44  millions  of  bot- 
tles, containing  48  cubic  inches*  each.  The  im- 
mense population  of  Paris  only  consumed  annually 
in  the  time  of  M.  Lavoisier  281,000  muids  of  wine, 
brandy,  cider,  and  beer,  equal  to  80,928,000 
bottles,  t 

The  consumption  of  bread  at  Mexico  is  equal  to 
that  of  the  cities  of  Europe.  This  fact  is  so  much 
the  more  remarkable,  as  at  Caraccas,  at  Cumana,  and 
Carthagena  de  las  Indias,  and  in  all  the  cities  of 
America  situated  under  the  torrid  zone,  but  on  a 
level  with  the  ocean,  or  very  little  above  it,  the  Creole 
inhabitants  live  on  almost  nothing  but  maize  bread, 
and  the  jatropha  manihot.  If  we  suppose,  with  M. 
Arnould,  that  325  pounds  of  flour  yield  416  pounds 
of  bread,  we  shall  find  that  the  130,000  loads  of 
flour  consumed  at  Mexico  yield  49,900,000  pounds 
of  bread,  which  amounts  to  363  pounds+  per  inclivi- 
dual  of  every  age.  Estimating  the  habitual  popu- 
lation of  Paris  at  547,000  inhabitants,  and  the  con- 
sumption of  bread  at  206,788,000  pounds,  we  shall 
find  the  consumption  of  each  individual  in  Paris  377 

*  58.141  cubic  inches  English.     Trans. 

t  These  bottles  must  contain  somewhat  more  than  the 
English.  It  is  believed  that  an  English  gallon  generally  runa 
five  bottles,  in  which  case  the  bottle  would  only  contain  40 
cubic  inches  ;  but  even  supposing  two  pints  to  the  bottle,  it 
•would  only  contain  57.8  cubic  inches,  still  somewhat  Ics? 
than  the  above.     Trarn. 

%  391  8-lOlb.  avoird.  Trans. 


CHAP.  viii.;i         KINC.DOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  51 

AN  \LYSlS.    5  ^'  I^itcndaiicij  of  Mexico. 

pounds.*  At  Mexico  the  consumption  of  maize  is 
almost  equal  to  that  of  wlieat.  The  Turkish  corn 
is  the  food  most  in  request  among  the  Indians.  We 
may  apply  to  it  the  denomination  which  Pliny  gives 
to  barley  (the  "S'^rj  of  Horner"*^)  antiqiiissimum  fru- 
mentuni ;  for  the  zea  maize  was  the  only  farinaceous 
gramen  cultivated  by  the  Americans  before  the  arri- 
val of  the  Europeans. 

The  market  of  Mexico  is  richly  supplied  with 
eatables,  particularly  with  roots  and  fruits  of  every 
sort.  It  is  a  most  interesting  spectacle,  which  may 
be  enjoyed  every  morning  at  sun  rise,  to  see  these 
provisions,  and  a  great  quantity  of  flowers,  brought 
in  by  Indians  in  boats,  descending  the  canals  of  Is- 
tacalco  and  Chalco.  The  greater  part  of  these  roots 
is  cultivated  on  the  chinampas,  called  by  the  Eu- 
ropeans floating  gardens.  There  are  t\\  o  sorts  of 
them,  of  which  the  one  is  moveable,  and  driven 
about  by  the  winds,  and  the  other  fixed  and  attached 
to  the  shore.  The  first  alone  merit  the  denomina- 
tion of  floating  gardens,  but  their  number  is  daily 
diminishing. 

The  ingenious  invention  of  chinampas  appears  to 
go  back  to  the  end  of  the  14th  century.  It  had  its 
origin  in  the  extraordinary  situation  of  a  people  sur- 

*  406  9-lOlb.  avoird.     Trans. 

§  Homer  it  is  believed  never  uses  koiCh  but  xjj.  This  is  an 
affair  of  small  consequence,  to  be  sure;  but  since  Homer  has 
been  referred  to,  it  is  just  as  well  to  state  correctly  what  is 
to  be  found  in  him,  x^t  is  to  be  used  in  the  following  pas- 
sages, and  perhaps  elsewhere. 

. .  .  Ux^ot,  dE  a<f'iv  'iK»y^  ^i^vyti;  ittttoj 

F^TOiC^h  ^?»  ?v£L'xov  i^i'irroj^-.nQi  km  oXv^a;.  II.  E.    195-6. 

ErwoTEf.  II.  0.  560-1. 

JTufoi  T£  ^ej«»  t'  n^  ivev<pvc<;  y.fi  ?.fyxov,  Od. —  Trans- 


62  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [dookui.' 

FATISTICA 

Ai^ALYSIS. 


STATISTICAL  j  j_  Intendancy  of  Mexico. 


rounded  with  enemies,  and  compelled  to  live  in  the 
midst  of  a  lake  little  abounding  in  fish,  who  were 
forced  to  fall  upon  every  means  of  procuring  subsist- 
ence.  It  is  even  probable  that  nature  herself  suggest- 
ed to  the  Aztecs  the  first  idea  of  floating  gardens. 
On  the  marsh}--  banks  of  the  lakes  of  Xochimilco  and 
Chalco,  the  agitated  water  in  the  time  of  the  great 
rises  carries  away  pieces  of  earth  covered  with  herbs, 
and  bound  together  by  roots.  These,  floating  about 
for  a  long  time  as  they  are  driven  by  the  wind,  some- 
times unite  into  small  islands.  A  tribe  of  men,  too 
weak  to  defend  themselves  on  the  continent,  would 
take  advantage  of  these  portions  of  ground  which 
accident  put  within  their  reach,  and  of  which  no  ene- 
my disputed  the  proi^erty.  The  oldest  chinampas 
were  merely  bits  of  ground  joined  together  artificial- 
ly, and  dug  and  sown  upon  by  the  Aztecs.  These 
floating  islands  are  to  be  met  with  in  all  the  zones.  I 
have  seen  them  in  the  kingdom  of  Quito,  on  the 
river  Guayaquil,  of  eight  or  nine  metres*  in  length, 
floating  in  the  midst  of  the  current,  and  bearing  young 
shoots  of  bambusa,  pistia  stratiotes,  pontederia,  and  a 
number  of  other  vegetables,  of  which  the  roots  are 
easily  interlaced.  I  have  found  also  in  Italy,  in  the 
small  logo  di  aqua  solfa  of  Tivoli,  near  the  hot  baths 
of  Agrippa,  small  islands  formed  of  sulphur,  car- 
bonate of  lime,  and  the  leaves  of  the  ulva  thermal  is, 
which  change  their  place  with  the  smallest  breath  of 
wind.f 

*  26  or  29  feet.     Trans. 

t  Floating  gardens  are,  as  is  well  known,  also  lo  he  met 
■with  in  the  rivers  and  canals  of  Cli,ina,  where  an  excessive 
population  compels  the  inhabitants  lo  have  recourse  to  every 
shift  for  increasing  the  means  of  subsistence.     Trans. 


CHAP.  VIII.]  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  63 

^YNii™lS.i  I-  lotauhncy  of  Mexico. 

Simple  lumps  of  earth,  carried  away  from  the 
banks,  have  given  rise  to  the  invention  of  chinampas  ; 
but  the  industry  of  the  Aztec  nation  gradually  car- 
ried this  system  of  cultivation  to  perfection.  The 
floating  gardens,  of  which  very  many  were  found  by 
the  Spaniards,  and  of  which  many  still  exist  in  the 
lake  of  Chalco,  were  rafts  formed  of  reeds,  (totora,) 
rushes,  roots,  and  branches  of  brushwood.  The 
Indians  cover  these  light  and  well  connected  materials 
with  black  mould,  naturally  impregnated  with  muriate 
of  soda.  The  soil  is  gradually  purified  from  this  salt 
by  washing  it  with  the  water  of  the  lake ;  and  the 
ground  becomes  so  much  the  more  fertile  as  this  lixi- 
viation  is  annually  repeated.  This  process  succeeds 
even  with  the  salt  water  of  the  lake  of  Tezcuco,  be- 
cause this  water,  by  no  means  at  the  point  of  its  sa- 
turation, is  still  capable  of  dissolving  salt  as  it  filtrates 
through  the  mould.  The  chinampas  sometimes 
contain  even  the  cottage  of  the  Indian  who  acts  as 
guard  for  a  group  of  floating  gardens.  They  are 
towed  or  pushed  with  long  poles  v/hen  wished  to  be 
removed  from  one  side  of  the  banks  to  the  other. 

In  proportion  as  the  fresh  water  lake  has  become 
more  distant  fiom  the  salt  water  lake,  the  moveable 
chinampas  have  become  fixed.  We  see  this  last 
class  all  along  the  canal  de  la  Viga,  in  the  marshy 
ground  between  the  lake  of  Chalco  and  the  lake  of 
Tezcuco.  Every  chinampa  forms  a  parallelogram  of 
100  metres  in  length,  and  from  five  to  six  metres  in 
breadth.*  Narrow  ditches,  communicating  sym- 
metrically between  them,  separate  these  squares. 
The  mould  fit  for  cultivation,  purified  from  salt  by 
frequent  irrigations,  rises  nearly  a  metref  above  the 

»  323  by  16  or  19  feet.      Trans.         t  3.28  feet.      Tran?. 


64  POLHICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [bookiii. 

^™ALYSia^]l'  Intendancy  of  Mexico, 

surface  of  the  surrounding  water.  On  these  chinam- 
pas  are  cultivated  l:)cans,  small  pease,  pimento,  (chile, 
capsicum,)  potatoes,  artichokes,  cauliflowers,  and  a 
great  variety  of  other  vegetables.  The  edges'  of 
iliese  squares  are  generally  ornamented  with  flowers, 
and  sometimes  even  with  a  hedge  of  rose  bushes. 
The  promenade  in  boats  around  the  chinampas  of 
Istacalco,  is  one  of  the  most  agreeable  that  can  be  en- 
joyed in  the  environs  of  Mexico.  The  vegetation  is 
extremely  vigorous  on  a  soil  continually  refreshed 
with  water. 

The  valley  of  Tenochtitlan  offers  to  the  examina- 
tion of  naturalists  two  sources  of  mineral  water,  that 
of  Nuestra  Senora  de  Guadalupe,  and  that  of  the 
Penon  de  los  Banos.  These  sources  contain  car- 
bonic acid,  sulfate  of  lime  and  soda,  and  muriate  of 
soda.  Baths  have  l^een  established  there  in  a  man- 
ner equally  salutary  and  convenient.  The  Indians 
manufacture  their  salt  near  the  Penon  de  los  Banos. 
They  wash  clayey  lands  full  of  muriate  of  soda,  and 
concentrate  water  which  have  only  12  or  13  to  the 
100  of  salt.  Their  caldrons,  which  are  very  ill  con- 
structed, have  only  six  square  feet  of  surface,  and 
from  two  to  three  inches  of  depth.  No  other  com- 
bustible is  employed  but  mule  and  cow  dung. 
The  iirc  is  so  ill  managed,  that  to  produce  twelve 
pounds  of  salt,  which  sells  at  55  sous,*  they  con- 
sume 12  sous-Avorth  of  combustibles.f  This  salt  pit 
existed  in  the  time  of  Motezuma,  and  no  change 
has  taken  place  in  the  technical  process  but  the  sub- 
stitution of  caldrons  of  beaten  copper  to  the  old 
earthen  vats. 

*  Is.  5  1. 2d,     Tram.  t  5  5-4-d.      Tmnu. 


CHAP,  viii]  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  ^ 

^'analys^s^^I  1-  Intendancy  of  Mexico. 

The  hill  of  Chapoltepec  was  chosen  by  the  young 
viceroy  Galvez  as  the  site  of  a  villa  (Chateau  de 
Plaisance)  for  himself  and  his  successors.  The 
castle  has  been  finished  externally,  but  the  apartments 
arc  not  yet  furnished.  This  building  cost  the  king 
nearly  a  million  and  a  half  of  livres.*  The  court  of 
Madrid  disapproved  ot  the  expense,  but,  as  usual, 
after  it  was  laid  out.  The  plan  of  this  edifice  is  very 
singular.  It  is  fortified  on  the  side  of  the  city  of 
Mexico.  We  perceive  salient  walls  and  parapets 
adapted  for  cannon,  though  these  parts  have  all  the 
appearance  of  mere  architectural  ornaments.  To- 
wards the  north  there  are  fosses  and  vast  vaults  ca- 
pable of  containing  provisions  for  several  months. 
The  common  opinion  at  Mexico  is,  that  the  house  of 
the  viceroy  at  Chapoltepec  is  a  disguised  fortress. 
Count  Bernardo  de  Galvez  was  accused  of  having 
conceived  the  project  of  rendering  New  Spain  inde- 
pendent of  the  peninsula  ;  and  it  was  supposed  that 
the  rock  of  Chapoltepec  was  destined  for  an  asylum 
and  defence  to  him  in  case  of  attack  from  the  Eu- 
ropean troops.  I  have  seen  men  of  respectability  in 
the  first  situations  who  entertained  this  suspicion 
against  the  young  viceroy.  It  is  the  duty  of  a  histo- 
rian, however,  not  to  yield  too  easy  an  acquiescence 
to  accusations  of  so  grave  a  nature.  The  Count  de 
Galvez  belonged  to  a  family  that  King  Charles  the 
Third  had  suddenly  raised  to  an  extraordinary  degree 
of  wealth  and  power.  Young,  amiable,  and  addict- 
ed to  pleasures  and  magnificence,  he  had  obtained 
from  the  munificence  of  his  sovereign  one  of  the  first 
places  to  which  an  individual  could  be  exalted ;  and, 

*  62,5051.  sterling.     Trcmt. 
VOL.    II.  I 


g6  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  in. 

^^1Slys^s^^]I-  Intendamy  of  Mexico, 

consequently,  it  could  not  be  becoming  in  him  to 
break  the  ties  which,  for  three  centuries,  had  united 
the  colonies  to  the  mother  country.*  Ihe  Count  de 
Galvez,  notwithstanding  his  conduct  was  well  calcu- 
lated to  gain  the  favour  of  the  populace  of  Mexico, 
and  notwithstanding  the  influence  of  the  Countess  dc 
Galvez,  as  beautiful  as  she  was  generally  beloved, 
would  have  experienced  the  fate  of  every  European 
viceroy f  who  aims  at  independence.  In  a  great  re- 
volutioi"iary  commotion,  it  would  never  have  been 
forgiven  him  that  he  was  not  born  an  American. 

The  castle  of  Chapoltepec  should  be  sold  for  the 
advantage  of  the  government.  As  in  every  country  it 
is  difficult  to  find  individuaLfondof  purchasing  strong 
places,  several  of  the  ministers  of  the  Meal  Hacienda 
have  begun,  by  selling  to  the  highest  bidder  the  glass 
and  sashes  of  the  windows.  This  vandalism,  which 
passes  by  the  name  of  economy,  has  already  much 
contributed  to  degrade  an  edifice  on  an  elevation  of 

*  What  the  intentions  of  Galvez  were  is  another  affair; 
but  can  the  author  seriously  believe  that  theso  circumstances 
really  do  away  the  suspicions  which  he  has  mentioned  ?  No 
person  was  so  likely  to  conceive  a  project  of  the  sort  as  a  man 
dazzled  with  the  suddenness  of  his  elevation  ;  fond  of  magni- 
ficence, and  eager  for  popularity.  Alas  !  gratitude  is  but  a 
small  obstacle  in  the  way  of  ambition.      Trans. 

t  Of  the  fifty  viceroys  who  have  governed  Mexico  from 
1535  to  1808,  one  alone  was  born  in  America,  the  Peruvian 
Don  Juan  de  Acuna,  Martinis  de  Casa  Fuerte,  (1722-1734,)  a 
disinterested  man  and  good  administrator.  Some  of  my  read- 
ers will,  perhaps,  be  interested  in  knowing  that  a  descendant 
of  Christopher  Columbus,  and  a  descendant  of  King  Mote- 
zuma,  were  among  the  viceroys  of  New  Spain.  Don  Pedro 
Nuno  Colon,  Duke  de  Veraguas,  made  his  entry  at  Mexico 
in  1673,  and  died  six  days  afterwards.  The  viceroy  Don  Jo- 
seph Sarvniento  Valiadares,  Count  de  Motezuma,  governed 
from  16V  7  to  1701. 


CHAP,  vin.]  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  67 

^YNifJS^"^]!-  Intmdancy  of  Mexico. 

2,325  metres,*  and  which,  in  a  climate  so  rude,  is 
exposed  to  all  the  impetuosity  of  the  winds.  It  would, 
perhaps,  be  prudent  to  preserve  this  castle  as  the  only 
place  in  which  the  archives,  bars  of  silver,  and  coin, 
could  be  placed,  and  the  person  of  the  viceroy  could 
be  in  safety  in  the  first  moments  of  a  popular  commo- 
tion. The  commotions  (motinos)  of  the  12th  Fe- 
bruary, 1608,  .15th  January,  1624,  and  1692,  are 
still  in  remembrance  at  Mexico.  In  the  last  of  these, 
the  Indians,  from  want  of  maize,  burned  the  palace 
of  the  viceroy  Don  Gaspar  de  Sandoval,  Count  of 
Galvez,  who  took  refuge  in  the  garden  of  the  con- 
vent of  St.  Francis.  But  it  was  only  in  those  time§ 
that  the  protection  of  the  monks  was  equivalent  to  the 
security  of  a  fortified  castle. 

To  terminate  the  description  of  the  valley  of  Mexi- 
CO,  it  remains  for  us  to  give  a  rapid  hydrographical 
view  of  this  country  so  intersected  with  lakes  and 
small  rivers.  This  view,  I  flatter  myself,  will  be 
equally  interesting  to  the  naturalist  and  the  civil  en- 
gineer. We  have  already  said,  that  the  surface  of 
the  four  principal  lakes  occupies  nearly  a  tenth  of  the 
valley,  or  22  square  leagues.  The  lake  of  Xochi- 
milco  (and  Cholco)  contains  61-2,  the  lake  of  Te2- 
cuco  10»-io,  San  Christobal  Se-io,  and  Zumpango 
13-10  square  leagues  (of  25  to  the  equatorial  degree.) 
The  valley  of  Tenochtitlan,  or  Mexico,  is  a  basin 
surrounded  by  a  circular  wall  of  porphyry  mountains 
of  great  elevation.  This  basin,  of  which  the  bottom 
is  elevated  2,277  metresf  above  the  level  of  the  sea, 
resembles,  on  a  small  scale,  the  vast  basin  of  Bohe- 

*  7,626  feet.  The  reader  need  not  be  told,  that  this  is  to  be 
understood  as  the  elevation  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  and 
not  the  height  of  the  hill  of  Chapoltepec.      Trans. 

t  7,468  feet.     Trans. 


58  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  iri, 

rATISTlCA 
ANALYSIS. 


STATISTICAL?  T     r*     ^  r  TiT     ' 

Sis.  i  ^*  Intendancy  oj  Mexico. 


mia,  aiid  (if  the  comparison  is  not  too  bold)  the  val- 
leys of  the  Mountains  of  the  Moon,  described  by 
MM.  Herschel  and  Schroeter.  All  the  humidity  fur- 
nished by  the  Cordilleras  which  surround  the  plain  of 
Tenochtitlan,  is  collected  in  the  valley.  No  river 
issues  out  of  it,  if  we  except  the  small  brook  (aroyo) 
of  Tequisquiac,  which,  in  a  ravine  of  small  breadth, 
traverses  the  northern  chain  of  the  mountains,  to 
throw  itself  into  the  Rio  de  Tula,  or  Moteuczoma. 

The  principal  supplies  of  the  lakes  of  the  valley 
of  Tenochtitlan  are,  1.  The  rivers  of  Papalotla,  Tez- 
cuco,  Teotihuacan,  and  Tepeyacac,  (Guadalupe,) 
which  pour  their  waters  into  the  lake  of  Tezcuco  ;  2. 
The  rivers  of  Pachuca  and  Guautitlan,  {Quauhtitlan^) 
which  flow  into  the  lake  of  Zumpango.  The  latter 
of  these  rivers  (the  Rio  de  Guautitlan)  has  the  long- 
est course  ;  and  its  volume  of  water  is  more  consider- 
able than  that  of  all  the  other  supplies  put  together. 

The  Mexican  lakes,  which  are  so  many  natural 
recipients,  in  w^hich  the  torrents  deposit  the  waters  of 
the  surrounding  mountains,  rise  by  stages,  in  propor- 
tion to  their  distance  from  the  centre  of  the  valley,  or 
the  site  of  the  capital.  After  the  lake  of  Tezcuco, 
the  city  of  Mexico  is  the  least  elevated  point  of  the 
whole  valley.  According  to  the  very  accurate  sur- 
vey of  MM.  Velasquez  and  Castera,  the  Plaza  May- 
or of  Mexico,  at  the  south  corner  of  the  viceroy's 
palace,  is  one  Mexican  vara,  one  foot,  and  one  inch* 

*  According  to  the  classical  work  of  IVI.  Ciscar,  (Sodre  los 
vuevos  fiesos  y  medidas  decimales,)  the  Castilian  vara  is  to  the 
toise  =  0.5l30  ;  1.1963,  anda  toise  =  2.3316  varas.  Don  Jorge 
Juan  estimated  a  Castiiian  vara  at  three  feet  of  Burgos,  and 
every  foot  of  Burgos  contains  123  lines,  two-thirds  of  the 
/lied  du  Roi.  The  court  of  Madrid  ordered  in  1783  the  corps 
of  sea  artillery  to  make  use  of  the  measure  of  varas,  and  the 
corps  of  land  artillery  the  French  toisc,  a  difference  of  which 


CHAP,  viii.]        KINGDOM  OF  NFAV  SPAnST.  5^ 

^^'nalysis^^]  I-  Intendancy  of  Mexico. 

higher  than  the  mean  level  of  the  lake  of  Tezcuco,* 
which  again  is  four  varas  and  four  inches  lower  than 
the  hike  of  San  Christobal,  whereof  the  northern  part 
is  Called  the  lake  of  Xaltocan.f  In  diis  northern  part, 
on  two  small  islands,  the  villages  of  Xaltocan  and 
Tonanitla  are  situated.  The  lake  of  San  Christobal, 
properly  so  called,  is  separated  from  that  of  Xaltocan 
by  a  very  ancient  dike  which  leads  to  the  villages  of 
Sun  Pablo  and  San  Tomas  de  Chiconautla,  The 
most  northern  lake  of  the  valley  of  Mexico,  Zumpan- 
go  (Tzonipango)  is    10  varas  1  foot  C  inches  higher 

it  •would  be  difficult  to  point  out  the  utility.  Comfiendio  de 
Matcmadcan  de  Don  Fruncifico  Xavier  Bovira,  torn.  iv.  p.  57. 
and  63.     The  Mi^xican  vara  is  equal  to  Om ,  839. 

*  The  manuscript  materials  of  which  I  have  availed  my- 
self in  the  compilation  of  this  notice  are,  1.  The  minute  plans 
drawn  up  in  1802,  by  orders  of  the  dean  of  the  High  Court 
of  Justice,  (Decano  dc  la  Real  jiudiencia  de  JMexico^)  Don 
Cosme  de  IVIiery  Trespalacoios  ;  2.  The  memoir  presented  by 
Don  Juan  Diaz  de  la  Calle,  second  secretary  of  state  at 
Madrid  in  1646,  to  King  Philip  IV.;  3.  The  instructions 
transmitted  by  the  venerable  Palafox,  bishop  of  la  Puebla  and 
viceroy  of  New  Spain  in  1642,  to  his  successor  the  viceroy 
Count  de  Salvatierra ;  (Marques  de  Sobroso  ;)  4.  A  mexnoir 
which  Cardinal  de  Lorenzana,  then  archbishop  of  Mexico, 
presented  to  the  viceroy  Buccarelli;  5.  A  notice  drawn  up  by 
the  Tribunal  de  Cuentas  of  IVIexico  ;  6.  A  memoir  drawn  up 
by  orders  of  the  Count  de  Revillagigedo  ;  and,  7.  The  Informe 
dc  Vtlasquez.  I  ought  also  to  mention  here  the  curious  work 
of  Zf/^d-r/c,  Historia  del  Desague,  printed  at  Mexico.  I  have 
twice  myself  examined  the  canal  of  Huehuetoca,  once  in  Au- 
gust, 1803,  and  the  second  time  from  the  9th  to  the  12th  Janu- 
ary, 1804,  in  the  company  of  the  viceroy  Don  Jose  de  Iturriga- 
ray,  whose  kindness  and  frankness  of  procedure  towards  me 
I  cannot  speak  in  too  high  terms  of.  (See  note  D.  at  the  end 
of  this  work.) 

t  The  elevation  of  the  Plaza  Mayor,  therefore,  above  Tez- 
cuco is  47.245  inches,  and  that  of  San  Christobal  1 1  feet 
8.863  inches.      Tranf;, 


70  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE         [book  iu. 

^\1SlyS^^1  ^-  Intendancy  of  Mexico. 

than  the  mean  level  of  the  lake  of  Tezcuco.*  A  dike 
{la  Calzada  de  la  Cruz  del  Rey)  divide  the  lakes  of 
Zumpango  into  two  basins,  of  which  the  most  west- 
ern bears  the  name  of  Laguna  de  Zitlaltepec,  and  the 
most  eastern  the  name  of  Laguna  de  Coyotepec. 
The  lake  of  Chalco  is  at  the  southern  extremity  of 
the  valley.  It  contains  the  pretty  little  village  of 
Xico,  founded  on  a  small  island  ;  and  it  is  separated 
from  the  lake  of  Xochimilco  by  the  Calzada  de  San 
Pedro  de  Tlahua,  a  narrow  dike  which  runs  from 
Tuiiagualca  to  San  Francisco  Tlaltengo.  The  level 
of  the  fresh  water  lakes  of  Chalco  and  Xochimilco  is 
only  1  vara  1 1  inches  higher  than  the  Plaza  Mayor 
of  the  capital.!  I  thought  that  these  details  might 
be  interesting  to  civil  engineers  wishing  to  form  an 
exact  idea  of  the  great  canal  (Desague)  of  Huehue- 
toca. 

The  difference  of  elevation  of  the  four  great  re- 
servoirs of  water  of  the  valley  of  Tenochtitlan  was 
sensibly  felt  in  the  great  inundations  to  which 
the  city  of  Mexico  for  a  long  scries  of  ages  has 
been  exposed.  In  all  of  them  the  sequence  of  the 
phenomena  has  been  imiformly  the  same.  The 
lake  of  Zumpango,  swelled  by  the  extraordinary  in- 
creases of  the  Rio  de  Guautitlan,  and  the  influxes 
from  Pachuca,  flows  over  into  the  lake  of  San 
Chribtobal,  with  which  the  Cienegas  of  Tepejuelo 
and  Tlapanahuiloya  communicate.  The  lake  of 
San  Christobal  bursts  the  dike  which  separates  it 
from  the  lake  of  Tezcuco.  Lasdy,  the  water  of 
this  last  b*:isin  rises  in  level  from  the  accumulated 
influx  more  than  a  metre*,  and  traversing  the  saline 

*  29  feet  1  inch  8S8.     Trans. 

t  3  feet  9  inches.     Trans.  \  39.571  inches.      Trans. 

5 


CHAP,  vni]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  7j 

^YnaLYSIS^^I  1-  intcndancij  of  Mexico, 

grounds  of  San  Lazaro,  flows  with  impetuosity  into 
the  streets  of  Mexico.  Such  is  the  general  progress 
of  the  inundations  :  they  proceed  from  the  north  and 
the  north-west.  The  drain  or  canal  called  the  De- 
sague  Real  de  Huchuetoca  is  destined  to  prevent 
any  danger  from  tliem  ;  but  it  is  certain,  however, 
that  from  a  coincidence  of  several  circumstances, 
tlie  inundations  of  the  south,  {avenidas  del  Sur,)  on 
which,  unfortunately,  the  Desague  has  no  influence, 
may  be  equally  disastrous  to  the  capital.  The  lakes 
of  Chalco  and  Xochimilco  would  overflow,  if  in  a 
strong  eruption  of  the  volcano  Popocatepetl,  this 
colossal  mountain  should  suddenly  be  stripped  of 
its  snows.  While  I  was  at  Guayaquil,  on  the  coast  of 
the  province  of  Quito,  in  1802,  the  cone  of  Cotopaxi 
was  heated  to  such  a  degree  by  the  effect  of  the 
volcanic  fire,  that  almost  in  one  night  it  lost  the 
enormous  mass  of  snow  with  which  it  is  covered. 
In  the  new  continent  eruptions  and  great  earthquakes 
are  often  followed  with  heavy  showers,  which  last 
for  whole  months.  With  what  dangers  would 
not  the  capital  be  threatened  were  these  phenomena 
to  take  place  in  the  valley  of  Mexico,  under  a  zone, 
where,  in  years  by  no  means  humid,  the  rain  which 
falls  amounts  to  15  decimetres*^. 

The  inhabitants  of  New  Spain  think  that  they  can 
perceive  something  like  a  constant  period  in  the  num- 
ber of  years  which  intervene  between  the  great  inun- 
dations. Experience  has  proved  that  the  extraordi- 
nary inundations  in  the  valley  of  Mexico  have  fol- 
lowed nearly  at  intervals  of  25  ycarsf.     Since  the 

*  59  inches.     Trans. 

t  Toaldo  pretends  to  be  able  to  deduce  from  a  great  num- 
ber of  observations,  that  the  very  ramy  years,  and  conse- 
quently the  g;reat  inundations,  return,  every  19  years,  accord- 
ins^  to  the  terms  of  the  cycle  of  Saros.  Rozier,  Journal  de 
Physiquey  1783. 


72  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  ih. 

^  ANALYSlb\^l  I*  J^ntendancy  of  Mexico. 

arrival  of  the  Spaniards  the  city  has  experienced 
five  great  inundations,  viz.  in  1553,  under  the 
viceroy  Don  Luis  de  Velasco,  (el  Viejo,)  constable 
of  Castile ;  in  1580,  under  the  viceroy  Don  Martin 
Enrequez  de  Alamanza;  in  1604,  under  the  vice- 
roy Monte sclaros  ;  in  1607,  under  the  viceroy  Don 
Luis  Velasco,  (el  Segundo,)  Marquis  de  Salinas ; 
and  in  1629,  under  the  viceroy  Marquis  de  Ceralvo. 
This  last  inundation  is  the  only  one  which  has  taken 
place  since  the  opening  of  the  canal  of  Huehueto- 
ca  ;  and  we  shall  see  hereafter  what  were  the  circum- 
stances which  produced  it.  Since  the  year  1629 
there  have  still  been,  however,  several  very  alarm- 
ing swellings  of  the  waters,  but  the  city  w'as  pre- 
served by  the  desague.  These  seven  very  rainy  years 
were  1648,  1675,  1707,  1732,  1748,  1772,  1795. 
Comparing  together  the  foregoing  eleven  epoquas, 
we  shall  find  for  the  period  of  the  fatal  recurrence 
the  numbers  of  27,  24,  3,  26,  19,  27,  32,  25,  16, 
24,  and  23  ;  a  series  which  undoubtedly  denotes 
somewhat  more  regularity  than  what  is  observed  at 
Lima  in  the  return  of  the  great  earthquakes. 

The  situation  of  the  capital  of  Mexico  is  so  much 
the  more  dangerous,  that  the  difference  of  level  be- 
tween the  surface  of  the  lake  of  Tezcuco  and  the 
ground  on  which  the  houses  are  built  is  every  year 
diminishing.  This  ground  is  a  fixed  plane,  particu- 
larly since  all  the  streets  of  Mexico  were  paved  un- 
der the  government  of  the  Count  de  Revillagigedo  ; 
but  the  bed  of  the  lake  of  Tezcuco  is  progressively 
rising  from  the  mud  brought  down  by  the  small 
torrents,  w-hich  is  deposited  in  the  reservoirs  into 
V,  hich  they  flow.     To  avoid  a  similar  inconvenience, 


CHAF.  viii.]       KINGDOM  OF  MEW  SPAIN.  73 

•STATISTICAL  7  X     t.      i  P  l\f        ^ 

ANALYSIS.    5  I-  Intendancy  of  Mexico. 

the  Venetians  turned  from  their  Lagunas  the  Brenta, 
the  Piave,  the  Livenza,  and  other  rivers,  which  form- 
ed deposits  in  them.*  If  we  could  rely  ontheresuhs 
of  a  survey  executed  in  the  16th  century,  we  should 
no  doubt  find  that  the  Plaza  Mayor  of  Mexico  was 
formerly  more  than  eleven  decimetresf  elevated  above 
the  level  of  the  lake  of  Tezcuco,  and  that  the  mean 
level  of  the  lake  varies  from  year  to  year.  If,  on  the 
one  hand,  the  humidity  of  the  atmosphere  and  the 
sources  have  diminished  in  the  mountains  surround- 
ing the  valley,  from  the  destruction  of  the  forests ; 
on  the  other  hand,  the  cultivation  of  the  land  has  in- 
creased the  depositions  and  the  rapidity  of  the  inun- 
dations. General  Andreossy,  in  his  excellent  work 
on  the  canal  of  Languedoc,  has  insisted  a  great  deal 
on  these  causes,  which  are  common  to  all  climates. 
Waters  which  glide  over  declivities  covered  with 
sward,  carry  much  less  of  the  soil  along  with  them 
than  those  which  run  over  loose  soil.  Now  the 
sward,  whether  formed  from  gramina,  as  in  Europe, 
or  small  alpine  plants,  as  in  Mexico,  is  only  to  be 
preserved  in  the  shade  of  a  forest.  The  shrubs  and 
underwood  oppose  also  powerful  obstacles  to  the 
melted  snow  which  runs  down  the  declivities  of  the 
mountains.  When  these  declivities  are  stripped  of 
their  vegetation,  the  streams  are  less  opposed,  and 
more  easily  unite  with  the  torrents  which  swell  the 
lakes  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Mexico. 

It  is  natural  enough,  that  in  the  order  of  hydrau- 
Hcal  operations  undertaken  to  preserve  the  capital 
from  the  danger  of  inundation,  the  system  of  dikes 
preceded  that  of  evacuating  canals  or  drains.    When 

*  Anilreossy  on  the  Canal  of  ilie  South,  p.  19. 
t  43  3-10.      Trans. 
VOL.  II.  K 


74  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  iir. 

^^ANALYS?S^^1 1.  Intendanctj  of  Mexico. 

the  citv  of  Tenochtitlan  was  inundated  to  such  a  de- 
gree in  1446  that  none  of  its  streets  remained  dry, 
Motezuma  I.  {Huehue  Moteuczoma,)  by  advice  of 
Nezahualcojotl,  king  of  Tezcuco,  ordered  a  dike  to 
be  constructed  of  more  than  12,000  metres  in  length, 
and  20  in  breadth.^  This  dike,  partly  constructed 
in  the  lake,  consisted  of  a  wall  of  stones  and  clay, 
supported  on  each  side  by  a  range  of  palisadoes,  of 
\\  hich  considerable  remains  are  yet  to  be  seen  in  the 
plains  of  San  Lazaro.  This  dike  of  Motezuma  I. 
was  enlarged  and  repaired  after  the  great  inundation 
in  1498,  occasioned  by  the  imprudence  of  King 
Ahuitzoti.  This  prince,  as  we  have  already  ob- 
served, ordered  the  abundant  sources  of  Huitzilo- 
pochco  to  be  conducted  into  the  lake  of  Tezcuco. 
He  forgot  that  the  lake  of  Tezcuco,  however  destitute 
of  water  in  time  of  drought,  becomes  so  much  the 
more  dangerous  in  the  rainy  season,  as  the  number 
of  its  supplies  is  increased.  Ahuitzoti  ordered 
Tzotzomatzin,  citizen  of  Coyohuacan,  to  be  put  to 
death,  because  he  had  courage  enough  to  predict  the 
danger  to  which  the  new  aqueduct  of  Huitzilopochco 
would  expose  the  capital.  Shortly  afterwards  the 
young  Mexican  king  very  narrowly  escaped  drown- 
ing in  his  palace.  The  water  increased  with  such 
rapidity,  that  the  prince  was  grievously  wounded  in 
the  head,  while  saving  himself  by  a  door  which  led 
from  the  lower  apartments  to  the  street. 

The  Aztecs  had  thus  constructed  the  dikes  (calza- 
das)  of  Tlahua  and  Mexicaltzingo,  and  I'Albaradon. 
which  extends  from  Iztapalapan  to  Tepeyacac,  (Gua- 
dalupe,) and  of  which  the  ruins  at  present  are  still 
very  useful  to  the  city  of  Mexico.     This  system  of 

*  *  395,369  by  65.6  feet.      Traris. 


CHAP,  vin  ]  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  75 

STATISTICAL  7  t     /  *     ^  r  Ar 

ANALYSIS.    5  ^'  -ifitendanci/  of  Mexico. 

dikes,  which  the  Spaniards  continued  to  iollow  lill 
the  commencement  of  the  17tl\  ccntuiy,  afforded 
means  of  defence,  whicli,  if  not  quite  secure,  were 
at  least  nearly  adequate,  at  a  period  w  hen  the  inha- 
bitants of  Tenochtitlan  sailing  in  canoes  were  more 
indifferent  to  the  effects  of  the  more  trifling  inunda- 
tions. The  abundance  of  forests  and  plantations 
afforded  them  great  facilities  for  constructions  on 
piles.  The  produce  of  the  floating  gardens  (chi- 
nampas)  was  adequate  to  the  wants  of  a  frugal  na- 
tion. A  very  small  portion  of  ground  fit  for  cultiva- 
tion was  all  that  the  people  required.  The  ovei-flow 
of  the  lake  of  Tezcuco  was  less  alarming  to  men 
who  lived  in  houses,  many  of  which  could  be  tra- 
versed by  canoes. 

When  the  new  city,  rebuilt  by  Hernan  Cortez, 
experienced  the  first  inundation  in  1553,  the  viceroy 
Velasco  I.  caused  the  Albaradon  de  San  Lazaro  to 
be  constructed.  This  work,  executed  after  the 
model  of  the  Indian  dikes,  suffered  a  great  deal  from 
the  second  inundation  of  1580.  In  the  third  of  1604 
it  had  to  be  wholly  rebuilt.  The  viceroy  Montes- 
claros  then  added,  for  the  safety  of  the  capital,  the 
Presa  d'Oculma,  and  the  three  calzadas  of  Nuestra 
Senora  de  Guadalupe,  San  Christobal,  and  San  An- 
tonio Abad. 

These  great  constructions  were  scarcely  finished, 
when,  from  a  concurrence  of  extraordinary  circum- 
stances, the  capital  was  again  inundated  in  1607. 
Two  inundations  had  never  before  followed  so 
closely  upon  one  another  ;  and  the  fatal  cycle  of  tliese 
calamities  has  never  since  been  shorter  than  sixteen 
or  seventeeii  ye.'.rs.  Tired  of  constructing  dikes, 
[albaradones,)  which  the  water  periodically  destroyed, 
they   discovered   at   lust  ihat  it  was  time  to  abandon 


76  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  hi. 

^ANALYS?s'^^.P-  Inteiidancy  of  Mexicd. 

the  old  hydraulical  system  of  the  Indians,  and  to 
adopt  that  of  canals  of  evacuation.  This  change 
appeared  so  much  the  more  necessary,  as  the  city 
inhabited  by  the  Spaniards  had  no  resemblance  in 
the  least  to  the  capital  of  the  Aztec  empire.  The 
lower  part  of  the  houses  was  now  inhabited ;  few 
streets  could  be  passed  through  in  boats ;  and  the 
inconveniences  and  real  losses  occasioned  by  the 
inundations  were  consequently  much  greater  than 
what  they  had  been  in  the  time  of  Motezuma. 

The  extraordinary  rise  of  the  river  Guautitlan  and 
its  tributary  streams  being  looked  upon  as  the  prin- 
cipal cause  of  the  inundations,  the  idea  naturally  oc- 
curred of  preventing  this  river  from  discharging  it- 
self into  the  lake  of  Zumpango,  the  mean  level  of 
the  surface  of  which  is  7  1-2  metres*  higher  than 
the  Plaza  Mayor  of  Mexico.  In  a  valley  circularly 
surrounded  by  high  mountains,  it  was  only  possible 
to  find  a  vent  for  the  Rio  de  Guautitlan  through  a 
subterraneous  gallery,  or  an  open  canal  through  these 
very  mountains.  In  fact,  in  1580,  at  the  epoch  of  the 
great  inundation,  two  intelligent  men,  the  licenciado 
Obregon^  and  the  maestro  Arcmiega^  proposed  to  go- 
vernment to  have  a  gallery  pierced  between  the  Cerro 
de  Sincoque,  and  the  Loma  of  Nochistongo.  This 
was  the  point  which  more  than  any  other  was  likely 
to  fix  the  attention  of  those  who  had  studied  the  con- 
figuration of  the  Mexican  ground.  It  was  nearest 
to  the  Rio  de  Guautitlan,  justly  considered  the  most 
dangerous  enemy  of  the  capital.  Nowhere  the 
mountains  surrounding  the  valley  are  less  elevated, 
and  present  a  smaller  mass  than  to  the  N.  N.  W.  of 
Huehuetoca,  near  the    hiils  of  Nochistongo.     One 

t  24.  6- 10  feet.      Trn-<H. 


rHAF.  vin.]        KINGDOM  or  NEW  SPAIN.  77 

STATISTICAL^  T     r^      1  p  M 

ANALYSIS.    \  !•  intendimcy  of  Mexjco. 

would  say  on  examinins^  attentively  the  marly  soil  of 
which  the  horizontal  slrala  fill  a  porph}  ritical  ckiile, 
that  the  valley  of  'renochiitlan  foimeily  communica- 
ted at  that  place  with  the  valley  of  Tula. 

In  1607,  the  Maicjuis  de  Salinas,  viceroy,  employed 
Enrico  Martinez  to  carry  through  the  artificial  eva- 
cuation of  the  Mexican  lakes.  It  is  generally  believed 
in  New  Spain  that  this  celebrated  engineer,   the  au- 
thor of  the  Desague  de  Huehuetoca^   was  a  Dutch- 
man or  a  German.     His  name  undoubtedly  denotes 
that  he  was  of  foreign  descent ;  but  he  appears,  how- 
ever, to  have  received  his  education  in   Spain.  The 
king  conferred  on  him  the  title  of  cosmographer ; 
and  there  is  a  treatise  of  his  on  trigonometry,  printed 
at  Mexico,  which  is  now  become  very  scarce.     Enri- 
co Martinez,  Alonso  Martinez,  Damian  Davila,  and 
Juan  de  Ysla,  made  an  exact  survey  of  the  valley,  of 
which  the  accuracy  was  ascertained  by  the  operations 
of  the  learned  geometrician  Don  Joaquim  Velasquez, 
in   1774.     The  royal  cosmographer,   Enrico   Marti- 
nez, presented  two  plans  of  canals,  the  one  to  evacu- 
ate the  three  lakes  of  Tezcuco,  Zumpango,  and  San 
Christobal,  and  the   other  the  lake  of  Zumpango 
alone;  and,  agreeably  to  both   projects,  the  evacua- 
tion of  the  water  was  to  take  place  through  the  sub- 
terraneous gallery  of  Nochistongo,  proposed  in  1580 
by  Obregon  and  Arciniega.     But  the  distance  of  the 
lakes  of  Tezcuco  from  the  mouth  of   the   Rio  de 
Guautitlan  being  nearly  32,000  metres,*  the  govern- 
ment confined  themselves  to  the  canal  of  Zumpango. 
This  canal  was  so  constructed  as  to  receive  at  the 
same  time  the  waters  of  the  lake,  and  those  of  the 
river  of  Guautitlan  ;  and  it  is  conseciuently  not  true 

*   104-,987  feet.      '/'nine. 


78  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  in. 

ANALYSIS     \  ^'  ^^i^ndanci/  of  Mepcico. 

that  the  desague  projected  by  Martinez  was  negative 
m  its  principle,  that  is  to  say,  that  it  merely  prevented 
the  Rio  de  Guaiititlan  from  discharging  itself  into  the 
lake  of  Zumpango.  The  branch  of  the  canal  which 
conducted  the  water  from  the  lake  to  the  gallery  was 
filled  up  by  depositions  of  mud,  and  the  desague  was 
onlv  useful  then  for  the  Rio  de  Guautitlan,  which  was 
turned  from  its  course  ;  so  that  when  M.  Mier  re- 
cently uridertook  the  direct  evacuation  of  the  lakes  of 
San  Christobai  and  Zumpango,  it  was  hardly  remem- 
bered at.  Mexico  that  188  years  before  the  same  work 
had  already  been  carried  into  execution  with  respect 
to  the  former*  of  these  great  basins. 

The  fiirnous  subterraneous  gallery  of  Nochistongo 
was  commenced  on  the  28th  November,  1607.  The 
viceroy,  in  presence  of  the  atidiencia,  applied  the 
first  pickaxe.  Fifteen  thousand  Indians  were  em- 
ployed at  this  work,  which  was  terminated  with  ex- 
traordinary celerity,  because  the  work  was  carried  on 
in  a  number  of  pits  at  the  same  time.  The  unfortu- 
nate Indians  were  treated  with  the  greatest  severity. 
The  use  of  the  pickaxe  and  shovel  was  sufficient  to 
pierce  such  loose  and  crumbling  earth.  After 
eleven  months  of  continued  labour,  the  gallery  (el 
socabon)  was  completed.  Its  length  was  more  than 
6,600  metresf  (or  1.48  common  leagues, )J  its 
breadth  3"\  5,\  and  its  height  4"".  2.|i  In  the  month 
of  December,  1608,  the  viceroy  and  archbishop  of 

*  The  avnhor  evidently  means  Zumpango,  which,  as  the 
sentence  is  constructed,  is  not  the  formtr  but  tlie  latter. 
Trans. 

t  21,653   feet.      Trans.. 

\  Of  25  to  tlic  sexagesimal  degree,  4,443  metres  each. 

§  11.482  '"cct.      Trann.  ||   13  779  feel.      Trans. 


CHAP.viii.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  79 

iTAI 

AN.' 


STATISTICAL  7  t     r  ,     ^  r  T\/r 

f  A  LYSIS.     5  ^*  intcnaancy  of  Mexico. 


Mexico  were  invited  by  Martinez  to  repair  to  Hue- 
huetoca,  to  see  the  water  flow*  from  the  lake  of  Zum- 
pango  and  the  Rio  de  Guautitlan,  through  the  gallery. 
The  Marquis  de  Salinas,  the  viceroy,  according  to 
Zcpeda's  account,  entered  more  than  2,000  metresf 
on  horseback  into  diis  subterraneous  passage.  On 
the  opposite  side  of  the  hill  of  Nochistongo  is  the 
Rio  de  Moctezuma,  (or  Tula,)  which  runs  into  the 
Rio  de  Panuco.  From  the  northern  extremity  of 
the  socabon,  called  the  Boca  de  San  Gregorio,  Mar- 
tinez carried  on  an  open  trench  for  a  direct  distance 
of  8,600  metres:}:  which  conducted  the  water  from 
the  gallery  to  the  small  cascade  [salto)  of  the  Rio  de 
Tula.  From  this  cascade  the  water  has  yet  to  de- 
scend, accordingto  my  measurement,  before  itreaches 
the  gulf  of  Mexico,  near  the  bar  of  Tampico, 
nearly  2,153  metres, ||  which  gives  for  a  length  of 
323,000  metres^  a  mean  fall  of  6  s-s  metics  in  the 
1,000. 

A  subterraneous  passage  serving  for  a  canal  of 
evacuation,  of  6,600  metres  in  length,  and  an  aper- 
ture of  10  1-2  square  metres  in  section,^!  finished  in 
less  than  a  year,  is  a  hydraulical  operation  which  in 
our  times,  even  in  Europe,  would  draw  the  attention 
of  engineers.  It  is  only,  in  fact,  since  the  end  of  the 
seventeenth  century,  from  the  example  set  by  the 
illustrious  Francis  Andrcossy  in  die  canal  of  Langue- 

*  The  water  flowed  for  the  first  time  on  the  17ih  Septem- 
ber, 1608. 

t  6,361  feet.      Trans.  ^  28,214  feet.      Trans. 

II  r,056  feel.      Trans.  §   1,059,714  feet.     Trayis. 

%  The  aperture  was  said  a  little  before  to  be  3m.  5,  in 
breadth,  and  4m.  2,  in  height.  Tlie  square  of  this  is  not 
10  1-2  but  U.7  metres,  which  correspond  to  158  square  feet. 
Trans. 


80  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  hi. 

STATISTICAL  ?  t     r  ^     ^  ^  7i/f      • 

ANALYSIS.    3  *•  J^ntenctancy  of  Mexico. 

doc,  that  these  subterraneous  apertures  have  become 
common.  The  canal  which  joins  the  Thames  with 
the  Severn  pasties,  near  Sapperton,  for  a  length  of 
more  than  4,000  metres,"*  through  a  chain  of  very- 
elevated  mountains.  The  great  subterraneous  canal 
of  Bridgewater,  which,  near  Worsley,  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Manchester,  serves  for  the  carriage  of 
coais,  has  an  extent,  including  its  different  ramifica- 
tioi\s,  of  19,200  metresf  (or  4  s-io  common  leagues.) 
The  canal  of  Picardy,  which  is  at  present  going  on, 
ought,  according  to  the  first  plan,  to  have  a  subterra- 
neous navigable  passage  of  13,700  metres  in  length, 
7  metres  in  breadth,  and  eight  metresi[:  in  height.  || 

Scarcely  had  a  part  of  the  water  of  the  valley  of 
Mexico  begun  to  flow  towards  the  Atlantic  Ocean, 
when  Enrico  Martinez  was  reproached  with  having 
dug  a  gallery  neither  broad  nor  dm^able,  nor  deep 
enough  to  admit  the  water  of  the  great  swellings. 
The  chief  engineer  (Maestro  del  Desague)  replied, 
that  he  had  presented  several  plans,  but  that  the  go- 
vernment had  chosen  the  remedy  of  most  prompt 
execution.  In  fact,  the  filtrations  and  erosions  oc- 
casioned by  the  alternate  states  of  humidity  and 
aridity  caused  the  loose  earth  frequently  to  crumble 
down.     They  were  soon  compelled  to  support  the 

*  13,123  feet.      Tram.  t  62,991  feet.      Trans. 

\  45,300  feet  in  length,  26.965  in  breadtli,  and  26.246  in 
height.      Trans. 

II  Millar  and  Vazic  on  Canals,  1807.  The  Georg-Stoltcn 
in  the  Harz,  a  gallery  begun  in  1777,  and  finished  in  1800, 
contains  10,438  metres  in  length,  (34,244  feet,)  and  cost 
1,600,000  francs,  (71,172'.)  Near  Forth  coal  mines  are 
worked  for  more  than  3,000  metres  (9,842  feet)  undf:r  the 
sea  withoiu  being  exposed  to  filtratibns.  The  subterraneous 
canal  of  iiridgewater  is  in  length  equal  to  two  thirds  of  the 
breadth  of  the  Straits  of  Dover. 


<.HAP.  VIII.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  Jjj 

TAT 

AN. 


^'''■\™  Ysfs^^'i  ^'  ■fnf^n^^i^^U  of  Mexico. 


roof,  which  was  only  composed  of  alternate  strata  of 
marl,  and  a  stiff  clay  called  tepetate.  '1  hey  made 
use  at  first  of  wood,  by  throwing  planks  across, 
which  rested  on  pillars ;  but  as  resinous  wood  was 
not  very  plentiiul  in  that  part  of  the  valley,  Martinez 
substituted  masonry  in  its  place.  This  masonry,  if 
^ve  judge  of  it  from  the  remains  discovered  in  the 
obra  del  consu/ado,  was  very  \\  ell  executed ;  but  it 
was  conducted  on  an  erroneous  principle.  The 
engineer,  in  place  of  fortifying  the  gallery  from  top 
to  bottom  with  a  complete  vault  of  an  elliptical 
form,  (as  is  done  in  mines  whenever  a  gallery  is 
cut  through  loose  sand,)  merely  constructed  arches 
which  had  no  sufficient  foundation  to  rest  on.  The 
water,  to  which  too  great  a  fall  was  given,  gra- 
dually undermined  the  lateral  walls,  and  deposited 
an  enormous  quantity  of  earth  and  gravel  in  the 
water-course  of  the  gallery,  because  no  means  were 
taken  to  filtrate  it,  by  making  it  previously  pass,  for 
example,  through  reticulations  of  fietate,  executed 
by  the  Indians  with  filaments  of  the  shoots  of  palm 
trees.  To  obviate  these  inconveniences,  Martinez 
constructed  in  the  gallery  at  intervals  a  species  of 
small  sluices,  which,  in  opening  rapidly,  were  to  clear 
the  passage.  This  means,  however,  proved  insuffi- 
cient, and  the  gallery  was  stopt  up  by  the  perpetual 
falling  in  of  earth. 

From  the  year  1608  the  Mexican  engineers  began 
to  dispute  whether  it  was  proper  to  enlarge  the  sq~ 
cabon  of  Nochistongo,  or  to  finish  the  walling,  or  to 
make  an  uncovered  aperture  by  taking  off  the  upper 
part  of  the  vault,  or  to  commence  a  new  gallery 
farther  down,  capable  of  also  receiving,  besides  the 
Avaters  of  the  Rio  de  Guautitlan,  and  the  lake  of 
Zumpango,  those  of  the  lake    of  Tescu^v.     Thf. 

VOL.   IT.  I. 


.'82  POLITICAL  EoSAY  ON  THE        [book  in. 

STATISTICAL^  t     r  x      i  r  i\/r     • 

x\NALYSlS.    3  !•  J^nt^ndaiicy  of  Mexico. 

archbishop  Don  Garcia  Guerra,  a  Dominican,  then 
viceroy,  ordered  new  surveys  to  be  made  in  1611  by 
Alonzo  de  Arias,  superintendant  of  the  royal  arsenal 
{armero  innyor,)  and  inspector  of  fortifications,  [ma- 
estro  mayor  de  fort'ijicaciones^  a  man  of  probity,  who 
then  enjoyed  great  reputation.  Arias  seemed  to 
approve  of  the  operations  of  Martinez,  but  the  vice- 
roy could  not  fix  on  any  definitive  resolution.  The 
court  of  Madrid,  wearied  out  with  these  disputes  of 
the  engineers,  sent  to  Mexico,  in  1614,  Adrian  Boot, 
a  Dutchman,  whose  knowledge  of  hydraulic  archi- 
tecture is  extolled  in  the  memoirs  of  those  times  pre- 
served in  the  archives  of  the  viceroyalty.  This 
stranger,  recommended  to  Philip  III.  by  his  ambas- 
sador at  the  court  of  France,  held  forth  again  in  fa- 
vour of  the  Indian  system ;  and  he  advised  the  con- 
struction of  great  dikes  and  well  protected  mounds 
of  earth  around  the  capital.  He  was  unable,  how- 
ever, to  bring  about  the  entire  relinquishment  of  the 
gallery  of  Nochistongo  till  the  year  1623.  A  new 
viceroy,  the  Marquis  do  Guelves,  had  recently  ar- 
rived at  Mexico  ;  and  he  had  consequently  never  wit- 
nessed the  inundations  produced  by  the  overflow  of 
the  river  of  Guautitlan.  He  had  the  temerity,  how- 
ever, to  order  Martinez  to  stop  up  the  subterraneous 
passage,  and  make  the  water  of  Zumpango  and  San 
Christobal  return  to  the  lake  of  Tezcuco,  that  he 
might  see  if  the  danger  was,  in  fact,  so  great  as  it 
had  been  represented  to  him.  This  last  lake  swell- 
ed in  an  extraordinary  manner  ;  and  the  orders  were 
recalled.  Martinez  recommenced  his  operations  in 
the  gallery,  which  he  continued  till  the  20th  June,*' 
1629,  when  an  event  occurred,  the  true  causes  of 
which  have  ever  remained  secret. 

*.  According  to  some  manuscripl  memoirs,  the  20th  Sep- 
tember. 


CHAP.viir.]      KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  §3 

STATISTICAL 7  t      r  ,     ,/  /-  \r        ir     • 

ANALYSIS.    V'  -'^'^^""^''cy  0/  Aexv  Mexico. 

The  rains  had  been  verj'  abundant ;  and  llic  en- 
gineer  stopt  up  the  bubterrancous  passiigc.  The  cit\' 
of  IVIexico  was  in  the  mornini^  inundated  to  the 
height  of  a  metre.*  The  Plaza  Mayor,  la  Plaza  del 
Volador,  and  the  sub\nb  of  Tlatelolco  alone  remain- 
ed dry.  Boats  went  up  and  down  the  other  streets. 
Martinez  was  committed  to  prison.  It  was  pretend- 
that  he  had  shut  up  the  gallery  to  give  the  incredulous 
a  manifest  and  negative  proof  of  the  utility  of  his 
Avork;  but  the  engineer  declared  that,  seeing  the 
mass  of  water  was  too  considerable  to  be  received 
into  his  narrow  gallery,  he  preferred  exposing  the 
capital  to  the  temporary  danger  of  an  inundation,  to 
seeing  destroyed  in  one  day,  by  the  impetuosity  of 
the  water,  the  labours  of  so  many  years.  Contrary 
to  every  expectation,  Mexico  remained  inundated 
for  five  years,  from  1629  to  1634. f  The  streets 
were  passed  in  boats,  as  had  been  done  before  th^ 
conquest  in  the  old  Tenochtitlan.  Wooden  bridges 
were  constructed  along  the  sides  of  the  houses  for  the 
convenience  of  foot  passengers. 

In  this  interval  four  different  projects  were  present- 
ed and  discussed  by  the  Marquis  de  Ceralvo,  the  vice- 
roy. An  inhabitant  of  Valladolid,  Simon  Mendez. 
affirmed  in  a  memoir,  that  the  ground  of  the  valfey 
of  Tenochtitlan  rose  considerably  on  the  N.  W. 
side  towards  Huehuetoca,  and  the  hill  of  Nochiston- 
go  ;  that  the  point  where  Martinez  had  opened  the 
chain  of  mountains  which  circularly  shuts  in  the 
valley  corresponds  to  the  mean  level  of  the  most  ele- 
vated lake,  (Zumpango,)  and  not  ro  the  level  of  the 

*  3  1-4  feet.     Trani. 

t  Several  memoirs  bear  that  the  inundation  only  lasted  liJl 
16.U,  but  that  it  broke  gut  afresh  towards  the  end  of  the  yea^ 
1633. 


^^  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  h... 

^^ALYbls.^]  I.  Intendancy  of  Mexico. 

lowest^  (Tezuco,)  and  that  the  ground  of  the  valley 
falls  considerably  to  the  north  of  the  village  of  Car- 
pio,  east  from  the  lakes  of  Zumpango  and  San  Chris- 
tobal.  Mendez  proposed  to  draw  (>ff  the  water  of 
the  lake  of  Tezcuco  by  a  gallery  which  should  pass 
between  Xaltocan  and  Santa  Lucia,  and  open  into  the 
brook  [arroy)  of  Tequisquiac,  which,  as  has  been 
already  observed,  falls  into  the  the  Rio  de  Moctezu- 
ma  or  Tula.  Mendez  began  this  desaguc^  projected 
at  the  lowest  point;  and  four  pits  of  ventilation 
{lumbreras)  were  already  completed,  when  the  go- 
vernment, perpetually  irresolute  and  vacillating,  aban- 
doned the  undertaking  as  being  too  long  and  too  ex- 
pensive. Another  desiccation  of  the  valley  was  pro- 
jected  in  1630  by  Antonio  Roman,  and  Juan  Alva- 
rez de  Toledo,  at  an  intermediate  point,  by  the  lake 
of  San  Christobal,  the  waters  of  which  were  propo- 
sed to  be  conducted  to  the  ravin  [barranca)  of  Hui- 
putztla,  north  of  the  village  of  San  Mateo,  and  four 
leagues  west  from  the  small  town  of  Pachuca,  The 
viceroy  and  audiencia  paid  as  little  attention  to  thi?i 
project  as  to  another  of  the  mayor  of  Oculma,  Chris- 
tobal de  Padilla,  who,  having  discovered  three  per. 
pendicular  caverns,  or  natural  gulfs,  {boquerones,) 
even  in  the  interior  of  the  small  town  of  Oculma, 
wished  to  avail  himself  of  these  holes  for  drawing 
oiF  the  water  of  the  lakes.  The  small  river  of  Teo- 
tihuacan  is  lost  in  these  boquerones.  Padilla  propo- 
sed to  turn  also  the  water  of  the  lake  of  Tezcuco  into 
them,  by  bringing  it  to  Oculma  through  the  farm  of 
Tezquititlan. 

This  idea  of  availing  themselves  of  the  natural 
caverns  formed  in  the  strata  of  porous  amygdaloid 
gave  rise  to  an  analogous  and  equally  gigantic  pro- 
ject, in  the  head  of  Francisco  Calderon  the  Jesuit 


uHAP.  VIII.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  85 

STATISTICAL  7  r     ,  ^     ^  r  nr 

ANALYSIS.    5  *•  Jfitenaanci/  of  Mexico. 

This  monk  pretended  that  at  the  bottom  of  the  lake 
of  'rezcuco,  near  the  Penol  dc  los  Banos,  there  was 
a  hole,  (sumidero,)  wliieh,  on  being  enlarged,  would 
swallow  up  all  the  water.  He  endeavoured  to  sup- 
port  this  assertion  b}'  the  testimony  of  the  most  in 
telligent  Indians,  and  by  old  Indian  maps.  The  vice- 
roy commissioned  the  prelates  of  all  the  religious 
orders  (who  no  doubt  were  likely  to  be  best  informed 
in  hvdraulical  matters)  to  examine  this  project.  The 
monks  and  Jesuit  kept  sounding  in  vain  for  three 
months,  from  September  till  December,  1635 ;  but 
no  sumidero  was  ever  found,  though  even  jet,  many 
Indians  believe  as  firmly  in  its  existence  as  Father 
Calderon.  Whatever  geological  opinion  may  be 
formed  of  the  volcanic  or  neptunian  origin  of  the  po- 
rous amygdaloid  (blasiger  Alafide/stem)  of  the  valley 
of  Mexico,  it  is  very  improbable  that  this  problema- 
tical rock  contains  hollows  of  dimension  enough  to 
receive  the  water  of  the  lake  of  Tezcuco,  which  even 
in  time  of  drought  ought  to  be  estimated  at  more 
than  251,700,000  cubic  metres.  It  is  only  in  secon- 
dary strata  of  g}psum,  as  in  Thuringia,  where  wc 
can  sometimes  venture  to  conduct  inconsiderable 
masses  of  water  into  natural  caverns,  (gr/pssrhlotten,) 
where  galleries  of  discharge  opened  from  the  interior 
of  a  mine  of  coppery  schistus  are  allowed  to  termi- 
nate, without  any  concern  about  the  ulterior  direc- 
tion taken  by  the  waters  which  impede  the  metallic 
operations.  But  how  is  it  possible  to  employ  this 
local  measure  in  the  case  of  a  great  hydraulical  ope-  . 
ration  ? 

During  the  inundation  of  Mexico,  which  lasted 
five  successive  years,  the  wretchedness  of  the  lower 
orders  was  singularly  increased.  Commerce  was  at  a 
stand,  manv  houses  tumbled  down,  and  others  were 


86  POLITiCAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  in. 

^^iU^ALYbls^^  ?  ^*  /^^<?«Ja?2^^  of  Mexico, 

rendered  uninhabitable.  In  these  unfortunate  times 
the  Archbishop  Francisco  Manzo  y  Ziiniga  distin- 
guished himself  by  his  beneficence.  He  went  about 
daily  in  his  canoe  distributing  bread  among  the  poor. 
The  court  of  Madrid  gave  orders  a  second  time  to 
transfer  the  city  into  the  plains  between  Tacuba  and 
Tacubaya ;  but  the  magistracy  [cabildo)  represented 
that  the  value  of  the  edifices  (Jincas)  which,  in  1607, 
amounted  to  150  millions  of  livres,  now  amounted 
to  more  than  200  millions.  ^'  In  the  midst  of  these 
calamities,  the  viceroy  ordered  the  inaage  of  the  holy 
virgin  of  Guadalupef  to  be  brought  to  Mexico.  She 

*  8,334,000/.  sterling.     Trans. 

t  In  public  calamities  the  inhabitants  of  Mexico  have  re- 
course to  the  two  celebrated  images  of  Nucstra  Senora  de  la 
Guadalupe,  and  de  los  Remedios.  The  first  is  looked  upon  as 
indigenous,  having  first  made  its  appearance  among  flowers  in 
the  handkerchief  of  an  Indian  ;  and  the  second  was  brought 
from  Spain  at  the  period  of  the  conquest.  The  spirit  of  party 
which  exists  between  the  Creoles  and  Europeans  (^Gac/iu- 
fiines)  gives  a  particular  turn  to  their  devotion.  The  lower 
orders  of  Creoles  and  Indians  are  extremely  discontented 
when  the  archbishop,  during  great  droughts,  orders  in  pre- 
ference the  image  of  the  virgiu  de  los  Remedios  to  be 
brought  to  Mexico.  Hence  the  proverb  characteristic  of  the 
mutual  hatred  of  the  casts:  Every  thing,  even  our  water, 
must  come  to  us  from  Europe,  {hasta  el  agua  nos  debc  venir 
de  la  Gachu/iina  !)  If,  notwithstanding  the  residence  of  the 
holy  virgin  de  los  Remedios,  the  drought  continues,  as  some 
very  rare  examples  of  it  arc  pretended  to  have  taken  place, 
the  archbishop  permits  the  Indians  to  go  in  quest  of  the 
image  of  our  lady  of  Guadalupe.  This  permission  difluscs 
gladness  among  the  IMexican  people,  especially  when  the 
long  droughts  terminate  (as  they  do  everywhere  else)  in 
abundant  rains.  I  have  seen  works  of  trigonometry  printed 
in  New  Spain  dedicated  to  the  holy  virgin  of  Guadalupe.  On 
the  hill  of  Tepejacac,  at  the  foot  of  which  her  rich  sanctuary 
b  constructed,  formerly  stood  the  temple  of  tho   Mcxlcai\ 

■i 


G«AP.  viii.]        KINGDOM  OP  NEW  SPAIN.  37 

^AN^\L™s^^ll^  Intcndancij  of  Nexv  Mexico, 

remained  for  a  long  time  in  the  inundated  city.  The 
waters,  however,  only  retired  in  1634,  when,  from 
very  strong  and  very  frequent  eartlKjiuikes,  the 
ground  of  the  valley  opened,  a  phenomenon  which 
fas  the  incredulous  say)  was  of  no  small  assistance  to 
die  adorable  virgin  in  her  miracle. 

The  Marquis  de  Ceralvo,  viceroy,  set  the  engineer, 
Martinez,  at  liberty.  He  constructed  the  calzada 
(dike)  of  San  Christobal,  such  nearly  as  we  now  sec 
iti  Sluices  [compertnas]  admit  the  communication 
of  tlie  lake  ol  San  Christobal  with  the  lake  of  Tez- 
cuco,  of  which  the  level  is  generally  from  30  to  32 
decimetres  lower.*'  Martinez  had  already  begun,  in 
1609,  to  convert  a  small  part  of  the  subterraneous 
gallery  of  Nochistongo  into  an  open  trench.  After 
the  inundation  in  1634,  he  was  ordered  to  abandon 
this  work  as  too  tedious  and  expensive,  and  to  finish 
the  desague  by  enlarging  his  old  gallerj'.  The  pro- 
duce of  a  particular  impost  on  the  consumption  of 
commodities,  [dercclio  de  sisas,)  was  desluied  by  the 
Marquis  de  Salinas  for  the  expenses  of  the  hydrauli- 
eal  operations  of  Martinez.  The  Marquis  de  Cade- 
rcyta  increased  the  revenues  of  the  desague  by  a  new 
imposition  of  25  piastres  on  the  importation  of  every 
pipe  of  Spanish  v/ine.  These  duties  still  subsist, 
though  but  a  small  part  of  them  is  applied  to  the  de- 
sague. In  the  beginning  of  the  18th  centuiy,  the 
court  destined  the  half  of  the  excise  on  wines  to  keep 
up  the  gi-eat  fortifications  of  the  castle  of  San  Juan 
d'Ulua.  Since  1779,  the  chest  of  the  hydraulical 
operations  of  the  valley  of  Mexico  does  not  draw 

Ceres,  called  Tonantzin^  (our  mother,)  or  Cf;:-»Vo//,  (goddess, 
of  maize,)  or  Tzin-teoil,  (generative  goddess.) 

*  From  118  to  125  mches.     Trar.s: 


gg  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ©N  THE         [book  in 

^ANALYS?S^^P-  ^ntendancy  of  Mexico. 

more  than  five  francs  of  the  duties  levied  on  each  bar- 
rel  of  wine  from  Europe  imported  at  Vera  Cruz. 

The  o}>erations  of  the  desague  were  carried  on 
with  very  Httle  energy  from  1634  to  1637,  when 
the  Marquis  de  Viilena,  (Duke  d'Escalona,)  viceroy, 
gave  the  charge  oF  it  to  Father  Luis  Flores,  com- 
missary-general of  the  order  of  St.  Francis.  The 
activity  of  this  monk  is  much  extolled,  under  whose 
administration  the  system  of  desiccation  was  changed 
£jr  the  third  time.  It  was  definitively  resolved  to 
abandon  the  gallery,  [socabon^)  to  take  off  the  top  of 
the  vault,  and  to  make  an  immense  cut  through  the 
mountain,  [tajo  abierto,)  of  which  the  old  subterra- 
neous passage  was  merely  to  be  the  water-course. 

The  monks  of  St.  Francis  contrived  to  retain  the 
direction  of  hydraulical  operations.     It  was  so  much 
the  easier  for  them  to  do  this,  as  at  that  epoqua*^ 
the   viceroyalty    was   almost   consecutively    in   the 
hands  of  Palafox,  a  bishop  of    Puebla,   Torres,  a 
bishop  of  Yucatan,  a  Count   de  Banos,  who  ended 
his  brilliant  career  by  becoming  a  barefooted  Car- 
melite, and   Enriqucz   de   Ribera,  a  monk  of   St. 
Augustin,   archbishop    of  Mexico.     Wearied  with 
the  monastical  ignorance  and  delay,  a  lawyer,  the 
fiscal   Martin  del   Solis,    obtained   from   the    court 
of  Madrid,  in   1675,    the   administration  of  the  de- 
sague.    He  undertook  to  finish  the  cut  through  the 
chain  of  the  mountains  in  two  months ;  and  his  un- 
dertaking  succeeded    so  well,  that  80  years    were 
hardly  sufficient  to  repair  the  mischief  which  he  did 
in  a  few  days.     The  fiscal,  by  advice  of  the  engi- 
neer Francisco  Posuelo   de  Espinosa,  caused  more 
earth  to  be  thrown  at  one  time  into  the  water-course 
than  the    shock   of  the  water   could   carry  along. 

*  From  9th  June,  1641,  to  13th  December,   167.". 


CHAP,  viii]  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  QQ 

^\n\^E™S^^1  I-  Tntendancy  of  Mexico. 

The  passage  was  stopt  up.  In  1760  remains  of 
what  had  fallen  in  by  the  imprudence  of  Solis  were 
still  perceptible.  The  Count  de  Monclova,  vice- 
roy,  very  justly  thought  that  the  tardiness  of  the 
monks  of  St.  Francis  was  still  preferable  to  the  rash 
activity  of  the  jurisconsult.  Father  Fray  Manuel 
Cabrera  was  reinstated  in  1687  in  his  place  of  super- 
intendant,  [superintendente  de  la  Real  obra  deldesague 
de  Huehuetoca.)  He  took  his  revenge  of  the  fiscal, 
by  publishing  a  book  which  bears  the  strange  title 
of  "  Truth  cleared  up  and  impostures  put  to  flight, 
by  which  a  powerful  and  envenomed  pen  endeavour- 
ed to  prove,  in  an  absurd  report,  that  the  work  of 
the  desague  was  completed  in  1675."* 

The  subterraneous  passage  had  been  opened  and 
walled  in  a  few  years.  It  required  two  centuries 
to  complete  the  open  cut  in  a  loose  earth,  and  in 
sec-tions  of  from  80  to  100  metresf  in  breadth, 
and  from  40  to  50|  in  perpendicular  depth.  The 
work  was  neglected  in  years  of  drought;  but  it 
was  renewed  with  extraordinary  energy  for  a  few 
months  after  any  great  swelling  or  any  overflow  of 
the  river  of  Guautitlan.  The  inundation  with  which 
the  capital  was  threatened  in  1747,  induced  the 
Count  de  Guemes  to  think  of  the  desague.  But  a 
new  delay  took  place  till  1762,  when  after  a  very 
rainy  winter  there  were  strong  appearances  of  inun- 

*  Verdad  aclarada  y  dea-vanecidas  imfiosturas-,  con  que  lo 
ardiante  y  envenenado  de  una  filiima  fioderosa  en  esta  J\fucva 
£a/iana,  en  un  dictamen  mal  insCruido,  cjuiao  /lersiiadir  averse 
acabado  y  fierfeccionao  el  ano  de  1675,  la  fabrica  del  Reel  D"- 
sagiie  de  Sfcxico. 

t  From  262  to  328  feet.     Trans. 

^From  131  to  16  i  feet.      7Vc77.9. 

VOL.   II.  ]tr 


90  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  hi. 

^  analyIis^^I  I.  Intendancy  of  Mexkp. 


dation.  There  were  still  at  the  northern  extremity 
of  the  subterraneous  opening  of  Martinez  2,310 
Mexican  varas,  or  1,938  metres,*  which  had  never 
been  converted  into  an  open  trench,  {tajo  abierto.) 
This  gallery  being  too  narrow,  it  frequently  happen- 
ed that  the  waiters  of  the  valley  had  not  a  free  pas- 
sage towards  the  Salto  de  Tula. 

At  length,  in  1767,  under  the  administration  of  a 
Flemish  viceroy,  the  Marquis  de  Croix,  the  body 
of  merchants  of  Mexico,  forming  the  tribunal  of  the 
Cojisulado  of  the  capital,  undertook  to  finish  the  de- 
sague,  provided  they  were  allowed  to  levy  the  du- 
ties of  sisa  and  the  duty  on  wine,  as  an  indemnifica- 
tion for  their  advances.  The  work  was  estimated 
by  the  engineers  at  six  millions  of  francs.f  The 
consulado  executed  it  at  an  expense  of  four  millions 
of  francs| ;  but  in  place  of  completing  it  in  five 
years,  (as  had  been  stipulated,)  and  in  place  of  giving 
a  breadth  of  eight  metres^  to  the  water-course,  the 
canal  was  only  completed  in  1789  of  the  old  breadth 
of  the  gallery  of  Martinez.  Since  that  period  they 
have  been  incessantly  endeavouring  to  improve  the 
work  by  enlarging  the  cut,  and  especially  by  ren- 
dering the  slope  more  gentle.  However,  the  canal 
is  yet  far  from  being  in  such  a  state  that  fallings  in 
are  no  more  to  be  apprehended,  which  are  so  much 
the  more  dtrngerous  as  lateral  erosions  increase  in 
the  proportion  of  the  obstacles  which  impede  the 
course  of  the  water. 

On  studying  in  the  archives  of  Mexico  the  his- 
tory of  the  hydiaulical  operations  of  Nochistongo,  we 
perceive  a  continual  irresolution  on  the  part  of  the 

*   6,;536  feet.      Trans,     f  2oO,OJO/.   stcrliiij;.      Trans. 
\    16G,680/.   stcrli-.i;^.      Tran.-i.      §  26  1-4  foel.      Trntis. 


CHAP,  viii.]         KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  91 

^YnaLYS^S^.^]^-  Jntehdancy  of  Mexico. 

governors,  and  a  fluctuation  of  ideas  calculated  to  in- 
crease the  danger  instead  of  removing  it.  We  Und 
visits  made  by  the  viceroy,  accompanied  by  the  au- 
diencia  and  canons  ;  papers  drawn  up  by  the  fiscal 
and  other  lawyers  ;  advices  given  by  the  monks  ol 
St.  Francis ;  an  active  impetuosity  every  fifteen  or 
twenty  years,  when  the  lakes  threatened  an  overflow  ; 
and  a  tardiness  and  culpable  indifference  whenever 
the  danger  was  past.  Twenty-five  millions  of  livres* 
were  expended,  because  they  never  had  courage  to 
follow  the  same  plan,  and  because  they  kept  hesitating 
for  two  centuries  between  the  Indian  system  of  dikes 
and  that  of  canals,  between  the  subterraneous  gallery, 
{socaborty)  and  the  open  cut  through  the  mountain, 
(tajo  abierto.)  The  gallery  of  Martinez  was  suffered 
to  be  choaked  up,  because  a  large  and  deeper  one 
was  wished  ;  and  the  cut  [tajo)  of  Nochistongo  was 
neglected  to  be  finished,  while  they  were  disputing 
about  the  project  of  a  canal  of  Tezcuco,  which  was 
never  executed. 

The  desague  in  its  actual  state  is  undoubtedly  one 
of  the  most  gigantic  hydraulical  operations  ever  ex- 
ecuted by  man.  We  look  upon  it  with  a  species  of 
admiration,  particularly  when  we  consider  the  na- 
ture of  the  groulid,  and  the  enormous  breadth,  depth, 
and  length  of  the  apeiture.  If  this  cut  were  filled 
with  water  to  the  depth  of  10  metres,t  the  largest 
vessels  of  war  could  pass  through  the  range  of 
mountains  Which  bound  the  plain  of  Mexico  to  the 
north-east.  The  admiration  which  this  Work  inspires 
is  mingled,  however,  with  the  most  afflicting  ideas. 
We  call  to  mind  at  the  sight  of  the  cut  of  Nochis- 

*  1,041,7501.  sterling.      Trarrs. 
t  32.8  feet.     Trans. 


92  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  hi. 

^^^iSlySs^^]  I-  tntendancy  of  Mexico. 

tongo  the  number  of  Indians  who  perished  there, 
either  from  the  ignorance  of  the  engineers,  or  the  ex- 
cess of  the  fatigues  to  which  they  were  exposed  in 
ages  of  barbarity  and  cruelty.  We  examine  if  such 
slow  and  costly  means  were  necessary  to  carry  off 
from  a  valley  enclosed  in  on  all  sides  so  inconsiderable 
a  mass  of  water ;  and  we  regret  that  so  much  col- 
lective strength  was  not  employed  in  some  greater 
and  more  useful  object ;  in  opening,  for  example,  not 
a  canal,  but  a  passage  through  some  isthmus  which 
impedes  navigation. 

The  project  of  Henry  Martinez  was  wisely  con- 
ceived, and  executed  with  astonishing  rapidity.  The 
nature  of  the  ground  and  the  form  of  the  valley  ne- 
cessarily prescribed  such  a  subterraneous  opening. 
The  problem  would  have  been  resolved  in  a  com- 
plete and  durable  manner ;   1.  If  the  gallery  had  been 
commenced  in  a  lower  point,  that  is  to  say,  corre- 
sponding to  the  level  of  the  inferior  lake ;  and,  2.  If 
this  gallery  had  been  pierced  in  an  elliptical  form,  and 
wholly  protected  by  a  solid  wall  equally  elliptically 
vaulted.     The  subterraneous  passage  executed  by 
Martinez  contained  only   15  square  metres*  in  sec- 
tion, as  we  have  already  observed.     To  judge  of  the 
dimensions  necessary  for  a  gallery  of  this  nature,  we 
must  know  exactly  the  mass  of  water  carried  along 
by  the  river  of  Guautitlan  and  the  lake  of  Zumpango 
at  their  greatest  rise.     I  have  found  no  estimation  in 
the  memoirs  drawn  up  by  Zepeda,    Cabrera,    Ve- 
lasquez,   and  by    M.  Castera.     But  from   the   re- 
searches which  I  have  myself  made  on  the  spot,   in 
the  part  of  the  cut  of  the  mountain  [el  carte  o  tajo) 
called  la  obra  del  consulado,  it  appeared  to  me  that 

*  161  square  feet.     Trans, 


CHAP.  VII i]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  93 

"^YnaLYS^S^^}  ^-  Intendar.cy  of  Mexico. 

at  the  period  of  the  ordinary  rains  the  waters  afford  a 
section  of  from  eight  to  ten  square  metres,*  and 
that  this  quantity  increases  in  the  extraordinary  swell- 
ings of  the  river  Guautilan  to  30  or  40t  square  me- 
tres. J  The  Indians  assured  me,  that  in  this  last  case, 
the  water  course  which  forms  the  bottom  of  the  tajo 
is  filled  to  such  a  degree,  that  the  ruins  of  the  old 
vault  of  Martinez  are  completely  concealed  under 
water.  Had  the  engineers  found  great  difficulties  in 
the  execution  of  an  elliptical  gallery  of  more  than 
from  four  to  five  metrest)  in  breadth,  it  would  have 
been  better  to  have  supported  the  vault  by  a  pillar 
in  the  centre,  or  to  have  opened  two  galleries  at  once, 
than  to  have  made  an  open  trench.  These  trenches 
are  only  advantageous  when  the  hills  are  of  small 
elevation  and  small  breadth,  and  when  they  contain 
strata  less  subject  to  falling  down.  To  pass  a  vo- 
lume of  water  of  a  section  in  general  of  eight, !|  and 
sometimes  from  15  to  20  square  metres,^  it  has  been 
judged  expedient  to  open  a  trench,  of  which  the 
section  for  considerable  distances  is  from  1,800  to 
3,000  square  metres.** 

In  its  present  state  the  canal  of  derivation  {desague) 

*  From  86  to  107  1-2  square  feet.     Trans. 

t  From  322  3-5  to  430  1-3  square  feet.     Trans. 

\  The  engineer  Iniesta  advanced  even,  that  in  the  great 
rises  the  water  ascends  to  the  height  of  20  or  25  metres  (65 
or  82  feet)  in  the  canal  near  the  Bo-ueda  Real.  But  Velas- 
quez affirms  that  these  estimations  are  enormously  exag- 
gerated. (Declaracion  del  Maestro  Iniesta,  and  Informe  de 
i^'elasquez ^holh  in  manuscript.) 

§  From  13  to  16  feet.    Trans.       |!  86  square  feet.     Tram 

^From  161  to  2 15  square  feet.     Trans. 

**From  19,365  to  32,275  square  feet.      Trails. 


94  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  iii. 

^^yAL™s!^l^-  intendancy  of  Mexico, 

of  Huehiietoca  contains,  according  to  the  measure- 
ments of  M.  Velasquez,* 

From  the  sluice  of  Vertideros  to  the  ^^^^  '»''»5-   Metres, 
bridge  of  Huehuetoca  -  4,870  or  4,087 

From  the  bridge  of  Huehuetoca  to 

the  skiice  of  Santa  Maria         -       2,660       2,232 

From  the  Compuerta  de  Santa  Maria 

to  the  sluice  of  Valderas         -         1,400       1,175 

From  the  Compuerta  de  Valderas  to 

la  Boveda  Real         -  -         -  3,290       2,761 

From  la  Boveda  Real  to  the  remains 
of  the  old  subterraneous  gallery 
called  Techo  Basso         .       .       -      650  545 

From  Techo  Basso  to  the  gallery  of 

the  viceroys         ....   1,270       1,066 

From  the  Canon  de  los  Vireyes  to  la 

Bocca  de  San  Gregorio        -        -      610  512 

From  the  Bocca  de  San  Gregorio  to 

the  demolished  sluice  -         -   1,400       1,175 

From  la  Presa  demolida  to  the  cas- 
cade bridge         ....  7,950       6,671 

From  la  Puente  del  Salto  to  the  cas- 
cade itself  (Salto  del  Rio  de  Tula)      450  361 


Lenjjth  of  the  canal  from  Verti-  v.  m. 


'& 


dcros  to  the  Salto         -         -     24,530  or  20,585t 

In  this  length  of  435  common  leagues,  the  chain 
of  the  hills  of  Nochistongo,  (to  the  east  of  the  Cerro 

*  Infornie  y  exjiosidon  de  las  o/ieracionrs  hechas  fiara  exa- 
minar  lafiossibilidad  del  desaguc  general  de  la  Laguva  de  Mexi- 
co y  ctros  Jinec  a  cl  conducientcsy  1774,  (manuscript  memoir, 
folio  5.) 

167,535  feet.      Trans. 

6 


I 


CHAP.  VIII.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  95 

^YnaiXsJ^^]  ^-  Ifitendancy  of  Mexico. 

de  Sincoque,)  constituting  a  fourth  part  ol  It,  has 
been  cut  to  an  extraordinar}'  depth.  At  the  point 
where  the  ridge  is  highest  near  the  old  well  of  Don 
Juan  Garcia,  for  more  than  a  length  of  800  metres,* 
the  cut  in  the  mountains  is  from  45  to  GO  metresf 
in  perpendicular  depth.  From  the  one  side  to  the 
other,  the  breadth  at  top  is  from  85  to  110 J  metres.^ 
The  depth  of  the  cut  is  from  30  to  50  metres,  !|  for 
a  length  of  more  than  3,500  metres.^[  The  water- 
course is  generally  only  from  three  to  four  metres** 
in  breadth;  but  in  a  great  part  of  the  desague  the 
breadth  of  the  cut  is  by  no  means  in  proportion  to 
its  depth,  so  that  the  sides  in  place  of  having  a  slope 
of  40°  or  50"  are  much  too  rapid,  and  are  perpe- 
tually falling  in.  It  is  in  the  Obra  del  Coiisulado  where 
we  principally  see  the  enormous  accumulations  of 
moveable  earth  which  nature  has  deposited  on  the 
porphyries  of  the  valley  of  Mexico.  I  have  reckoned, 
in  descending  the  stair  of  the  viceroys,  25  strata  of 
hardened  clay,  with  as  many  alternate  strata  of  marl, 
containing  fibrous  calcareous  balls  of  a  cellular  sur- 
lace.  It  was  in  digging  the  trench  of  ,the  desague 
that  the  fossile  elephant  bones  were  discovered,  of 
which  I  have  spoken  in  another  work. ft 

*  2,624  feet.      Trans.         f  From  147  to  196  feet.    Trans. 

\  From  278  to  360  feet.      Trans. 

§  To  have  a  clearer  idea  of  the  enormous  breadth  of  this 
trench  in  the  Obra  del  Consulado,  we  have  only  to  recollect 
that  the  breadth  of  the  Seine  at  Paris  is  at  Port  Bonaparte 
102  metres,  (334  English  feet,)  at  Pont-Royal  136  metres, 
(446  feet,)  and  at  the  Pont  d'Austerlitz,  near  the  botanical 
garden,  175  metres,  (574  feet.) 

II  From  98  to  131  feet.      Trans.      ^  1 1,482  feet.      Trans. 

•*  From  9.84  to  13.1  feet.      Trans. 

ft  In  the  Rtcueil  de  mcs  Observations  de  Zoologie  et  d^AnatO' 

rnie  cojtifiurec. 


96  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [eookiit 

STATISTICAL^  T     r,     ^  i-  TK/r      ' 

ANALYSIS.  5  *•  ^ntenciancy  of  Mexico. 

On  both  sides  of  the  cut  we  sec  considerable  hills 
fornied  of  the  rubbish,  which  are  gradually  begin- 
ning to  be  covered  with  vegetation.  The  extraction 
of  the  rubbish  having  been  an  infinitely  laborious  and 
tedious  operation,  the  method  of  Enrico  Martinez 
was  at  last  resorted  to.  They  raised  the  level  of  the 
water  by  small  sluices,  so  that  the  force  of  the  current 
carried  along  the  rubbish  thrown  into  the  water- 
course. Daring  this  operation,  from  20  to  30  In- 
dians have  sometimes  perished  at  a  time.  Cords 
were  fastened  round  them,  by  which  they  were  kept 
suspended  in  the  current  for  the  sake  of  collecting 
the  rubbish  into  the  middle  of  it ;  and  it  frequently 
happened  that  the  impetuosity  of  the  stream  dashed 
them  against  detached  masses  of  rock,  which  crushed 
them  to  death. 

We  have  already  observed  that  from  the  year  1643, 
the  branch  of  Martinez's  canal,  directed  towards  the 
lake  of  Zumpango,  had  filled  up,  and  that  by  that 
means  (to  use  the  expression  of  the  Mexican  engi- 
neers of  the  present  day)  the  desague  had  become  sim- 
ply negative  ;  that  is  to  say,  it  prevented  the  river  of 
Guautitlan  to  discharge  itself  into  the  lake.  At  the 
period  of  the  great  rises  the  disadvantages  resulting 
from  this  state  of  things  were  sensibly  feh  in  the  city 
of  Mexico.  The  Rio  de  Guautitlan,  in  overflowing, 
poured  part  of  its  water  into  the  basin  of  Zumpango, 
which,  swelled  by  the  additional  confluents  of  San 
Mateo  and  Pachuca,  formed  a  junction  with  the  lake 
of  San  Christobal.  It  would  have  been  very  expen- 
sive to  enlarge  the  bed  of  the  Rio  de  Guautitlan,  to 
cut  its  sinuosities,  and  rectify  its  course ;  and  even 
this  remedy  would  not  have  wholly  removed  the 
danger  of  inundation.  The  very  wise  resolution  was 
therefore  adopted  at  the  end  of  the  last  century,  under 


CHAP.  VIII.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  97 

^"^'NitySai  I-  Intcndancy  of  Mex,co. 

ihe  direction  of  Don  Cosmc  dc  Micr  y  Trcspalacio.s, 
superintend:int- general  of  the  desiiguc,  of  opening 
two  canals  to  conduct  the  water  from  the  lakes  of 
Zumpango  and  San  Christobal  to  the  cut  in  the  moun- 
tain at  Nochistongo.  The  lirst  of  these  canals  was 
begun  in  1796,  and  the  second  in  1798.  The  one 
is  8,900,  and  the  other  13,000  metres^  in  length. 
The  canal  of  San  Christobal  joins  that  of  Zumpango 
to  the  south-east  of  Huehuctoca,  at  5,000  mctresj 
distance  from  its  entry  into  the  desague  of  Martinez. 
These  two  works  cost  more  than  a  million  of  livrcs.:}; 
They  are  water- courses,  in  which  the  level  of  the 
water  is  from  8  to  12  metres')  lower  than  the  neigh- 
bouring ground  ;  and  they  have  the  sume  defects  on 
a  small  scale  wi:h  the  great  trench  of  Nochistongo. 
Their  slopes  are  much  too  rapid  ;  in  several  places 
they  are  almost  perpendicular.  Hence  the  loose 
earth  falls  so  frequently  in,  that  it  requires  from 
16,000  to  20,000  francsll  annually  to  keep  these  two 
canals  of  M.  Mier  in  a  proper  condition.  When 
the  viceroys  go  to  inspect  {hacer  la  visita)  the  de- 
sague (a  two  days  journey,  which  formerly  brought 
them  in  a  present  of  3,000  double  piastres^)  they 
embarked  near  their  palace**  from  the  south  bank  of 
the  lake  of  San  Christobal,  and  went  even   farther 

*  29,228  and  42,650  feet.      Trans.       t  16,40^  feet.      TravF. 
\  41,670/.  sterling.      Trans. 
Fi-om    29  to  39  feet.     Trans. 
11  From  666/.  to  833/.  sterling;.     Trans. 
.  K  656/.  sterling.     Trans. 

**  This  pretended  Pa/acio  dc  los  Vtrcycs,  from  which  there 
is  a  magnificent  view  of  the  lake  of  Tezcuco,  and  the  volcano 
of  Popocatepec,  covered  with  eteraal  snow,  bears  more  re- 
'jemblance  to  a  great  farm-house  than  to  a  palace. 

VOL.  ir.  N 


93  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  ut. 

'^  anaSsis^I  I-  Intendancy  of  Mexico. 

than  Huehuctoda  by  water,  a  distance  of  seven  com- 
mon leagues. 

It  appears  from  a  manuscript  memoir  of  Don  Ig- 
nacio  Castera,  present  inspector  [maestro  mayor)  of 
liydraulical  operations  in  the  valley  of  Mexico,  that 
the  desague  cost,  including  the  repairs  of  the  dikes, 
{albaradonesi)  between  1607  and  1789,  the  sum  of 
5,547,670  double  piastres.  If  we  add  to  this  enor- 
mous sum  from  6  to  7*00,000  piastres  expended  in 
the  fifteen  following  years^  we  shall  find  that  the  whole 
of  these  operations  (the  cut  through  the  mountains 
of  Nochistongo,  the  dikes,  and  the  two  canals  from 
the  upper  lakes)  have  not  costless  than  3 1  millions  of 
li  vres.  *  T  he  estimate  of  the  expense  of  the  canal  du 
Midi,  of  which  the  length  is  238,648  metres,t  (not- 
withstanding the  construction  of  62  locks,  and  the 
magnificent  reservoir  of  St.  Ferreol,)  was  only 
4,897,000  francs  ;$  but  it  has  cost  from  1686  to  1791 
the  sum  of  22,999,000  of  francs§  to  keep  this  canal 
in  order.  II 

Resuming  what  we  have  been  stating  relative  to 
the  hydraulical  operations  carried  on  in  the  plains  of 
Mexico,  we  see  that  the  safety  of  the  capital  actually 
depends :  1.  On  the  stone  dikes  which  prevent  the 
water  of  the  lake  of  Zumpango  from  flowing  over 
into  the  lake  of  San  Christobal,  and  San  Christobal 
from  flowing  into  the  lake  of  Tezcuco ;  2.  On  the 
dikes  and  sluices  of  Tlahuac  and  Mexicaltzingo, 
which  prevent  the  lakes  of  Chalco  and  Xochimilco 
from  overflowing ;  3.  On  the  desague  of  Enrico  Mar- 
thtez,  by  which  the  Rio  de  Guautitlan  makes  its  way 

*  1,291,770/.  sterling.     Trans,      t  782,966  feet.     Trans. 
%  204,057/.  sterling.     Trans.     §  958,368/.  sterling.      Trans. 
\\  Andre'ossvj  Histoire  du  Canal  du  Midi,  p.  289. 


CHAP.  VII..]  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  99 

^  ANil™S.''II-  Ixtendanry  of  Mexico. 

through  the  mountains  into  tiie  valley  of  Tula  ;  and, 
4.  On  tlie  two  canals  of  M.  Mier,  by  which  the  two 
lakes  of  Zumpangoand  San  Christobal  may  be  thrown 
dry  at  pleasure. 

However,  all  these  multiplied  means  do  not  secure 
the  capital  against  inundations  proceeding  from  the 
north  and  north-west.  Notwithstanding  all  the  ex- 
pense which  has  been  laid  out,  the  city  will  continue 
exposed  to  very  great  risks  till  a  canal  shall  be  imme- 
diately opened  from  the  lake  of  Tezcuco.  The  wa- 
ters of  this  lake  may  rise,  without  those  of  San  Chris- 
tobal bursting  the  dike  which  confines  them.  The 
great  inundation  of  Mexico  under  the  reign  of  Ahu- 
itzotl  was  solely  occasioned  by  frequent  rains,*  and 
the  overflowing  of  the  most  southern  lakes,  Chalco 
and  Xochimilco.  The  w^ater  rose  to  five  or  six  me- 
tresf  above  the  level  of  the  streets.  In  1763,  and  the 
beginning  of  1764,  the  capital  was,  from  a  similar 
cause,  in  the  greatest  danger.  Inundated  in  every 
quarter,  it  formed  an  island  for  several  months,  with- 
out a  single  drop  from  the  Rio  de  Guautitlan  enter- 
ing the  lake  of  Tezcuco.  This  overflow  was  merely 
occasioned  by  small  confluents  from  the  east,  west 
and  south.  Water  was  everywhere  seen  to  spring 
up,  undoubtedly  from  the  hydrostatical  pression  which 
it  experienced  in  filtration  in  the  surrounding  moim-v 


*  The  Indian  historians  relate,  that  at  this  period  great 
masses  of  water  were  seen  to  fall  on  the  declivities  of  the 
mountains  in  the  interior  of  the  country,  which  contained 
fishes  never  found  but  in  the  rivers  of  the  warm  regions,  (/j^s- 
eados  de  tierra  caitente,)  a  physical  phenomenon^  cUfficuU  o-f 
explanation,  on  account  of  the  elevation  of  the  Mexican  ta- 
ble-land. 

t  16  and  19  feet.     Tr(in4. 


100  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  m 


STATISTICAL 


ANALYSIS^  5  ^'  -^^^^<?^^^<2"c^  of  Mexico. 

tains.  On  the  dth  of  September,  1772,  there  fell* 
so  sudden  and  abundant  a  shower  in  the  valley  of 
Mexico,  that  it  had  all  the  appearance  of  a  water 
spout,  {manga  de  agua.)  Fortunately,  however,  this 
phenomenon  took  place  only  in  the  north  and  north- 
west part  of  the  valley.  The  canal  of  Huehuetocu 
was  then  productive  of  the  most  beneficial  effects, 
though  a  great  portion  of  ground  between  San  Chris- 
tobal,  Ecatepec,  San  Mateo,  Santa  Ines,  and  Guau- 
titlan,  were  inundated  to  such  a  degree  that  many 
edifices  became  entire  ruins.  If  this  deluge  had 
burst  above  the  basin  of  the  lake  of  Tezcuco,  the 
capital  would  have  been  exposed  to  the  most  immi- 
nent danger.  These  circumstances,  and  several  others 
which  we  have  already  adverted  to,  suiticiently  prove 
how  indispensable  a  duty  it  becomes  for  the  govern- 
ment to  take  in  hand  the  draining  the  lakes  which  are 
nearest  to  the  city  of  Mexico.  This  necessity  is 
daily  increasing,  because  the  bottoms  of  the  basing; 
of  Tezcuco  and  Chalco  are  continually  becoming 
more  elevated  from  the  depositions  which  they  re- 
ceive. 

In  fact,  while  I  was  at  Huehuetoca  in  the  month  of 
January,   1804,  the  viceroy  Iturrigaray   gave  orders 
for  the  construction  of  the  canal   of  Tezcuco,  for- 
merly projected  by  Martinez,  and  more  recently  sur- 
.(  veyed  by  Velasquez.     This  canal,  the  estimate  of 

||  the  expense  of  which  amounts  to  three  millions  of 

livres  tournois,t  is  to  commence  at  the  north-west 
extremity  of  the  lake  of  Tezcuco,  in  a  point  situa- 
ted at  a  distance  of  4,593  metresj  south  36°  east, 

*  Informe  de  Velasquez,  (manuscript,)  folio  25- 
t  125,010/.  sterling.     Trans. 
\  15,067  feet.     Trans. 


CHAP,  vin]         KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  jQi 

STATISTICAL 7  X     ,•  ,       ,     ,        p  ^f 
AN  VLVSIS,    3  ^-  JLritemanCy  of  Mexico. 

Irom  the  first  sluice  of  the  Calzada  de  San  Christo- 
bal.  It  is  to  pass,  first,  through  the  great  arid  plain 
contaiiiiiii^  the  insulated  mountains  of  las  Cruces  dc 
Ecatc-pcc  and  Cluconautla^'^  and  it  will  then  take  the 
direction  of  the  farm  of  Santa  Ines  towards  the  ca- 
nal of  Huehuetoca.  Its  total  length  to  the  sluice  of 
Vcrtidcros  will  be  37,978  Mexican  varas,  or  31,901 
metres;!  b'-it  what  will  render  the  execution  of  this 
plan  the  most  expensive,  is  the  necessity  of  deepen- 
ing the  course  of  the  old  desague  all  the  way  irom 
Vertideros  to  beyond  the  Boveda  Real ;  the  first  of 
these  two  points  being  9^.  078  above,  and  the  se- 
cond 9'".  181$  lower  than  the  mean  level  of  the  lake 
of  Tezcuco.^  Their  distance  from  one  another  is 
almost  10,200  metres,  (33,464  feet  English.)  To  avoid 
deepening  the  bed  of  the  present  desague  for  a  still 
more  considerable  length,   it  is  proposed  to  give  to 

*  The  former  of  these  summits,  accordlni>  to  the  geodaesi- 
(  al  measurements  of  M.  Velasquez,  is  404,  and  the  latter  378 
Alexican  varas  (339  and  317  metres)  above  the  mean  level  of 
the  lake  of  Tezcuco. 

t   104,660  feet.      Trans. 

%  357.108  inches,  and  361.464  inches.      Trans. 

§  To  complete  the  description  of  this  great  hydraulical  un- 
dertaking, we  shall  here  insert  the  principal  results  of  M. 
Velasquez's  survey.  These  results,  on  correcting  the  error 
of  the  refraction,  and  reducing  the  apparent  to  the  true  level, 
coincide  -well  enough  with  those  obtained  by  Enrico  Martinez 
and  Arias,  in  the  commencement  of  the  17th  century;  but 
they  prove  the  erroneousness  of  the  surveys  executed  in 
1764  by  Don  Yldefonso  Yniesta,  according  to  which  the  drain- 
ing of  the  lake  of  Tezcuco  appeared  a  much  more  dilRcult 
problem  to  resolve  than  it  is  in  reality.  We  shall  designate 
by  -|-  the  points  Avhich  are  more  elevated,  and  by  —  the 
points  which  are  less  elevated  than  the  mean  level  of  the 
vrater  of  Tezcuco,  in  1773  and  1774,  or  the  signal  placed  near 


102  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  xn- 

STATISTICAL  ^  T     r,      ,  r  n/r 

ANALYSIS.    1"^*  intejidancy  of  Mexico. 

the  new  canal  a  fall  of  only  0"\  2  in  1,000  metres. 
The  plan  of  the  engineer  Martinez  was  rejected  in 
1607,  purely  because  it  was  supposed  that  a  current 
ought  to  have  a  fall  of  half  a  metre  in  the  hundred. 
Alonso  de  Arias  then  proved,  on  the  authority  of  Vi- 
truvius,  (L.  VIII.  C.  7.)  that  to  convey  the  water  of 
the  lake  of  Tczcuco  into  the  Rio  de  Tula,  a  prodi- 
gious depth  would  be  requisite  for  the  new  canal,  and 

its  baiik,  :it  the  distance  of  5,'ir5  Mexican  varas,  south  36°  cast 
irom  the  lirsl  sluice  of  the  Calzada  de  San  Christobal, 

The  channel  of  the  Rio  <le 

Guautitlan  )icar  the  sluice     Yaras.     Palmos.     Dedos.     Granos. 

of  Verlidtros  -         -j-     10     .     3     ,         2.3 

The  channel  of  tlie  desague 

under  tlic    port  of    Ilue- 

huetoca  -  -'^      8.0.         2     •     I 

Id.  near  the  shiicc  of  Santa 

Maria  -  -        _[_      4     ,     3     .         8.3 

Id,  below  the  slyice  of  Val- 

deras  -  -{-      2     .     I     .       1 1     .     2 

The  channel  of  the  desague 

below  the  Boveda  Real     —     10     .     3     ^        9.3 
Id.   below    the    Boveda    de 

Techo  Baxo  -  —     is     .    0     .         6.1 

Id.   below  the  Bocca  de  San 

Gregorio  -'  — 

Id.  above  the  Salto  del  Rio  — 
Td.  below  the  SaJto  del  Kio  t—  107 

It  is  to  be  observed,  tijat  the  vara  is  divided  into  4  pahnos, 
48  dedos,  and  192  granos;  that  a  toise  is  equal  to  3.32258 
Mexican  varas,  and  that  a  Mexican  vara  is  .839169  metres, 
according  to  the  experiments  made  on  a  vara  preserved  in  the 
Casa  del  Cabildo  of  Mexico  since  the  time  of  King  Philip  IL 
Author. 

A  toise  is  equivalent  to  2.3225^  Mexican  varas,  and  not 
.'5.32258.     A  vara  being  equal  to  .839169  of  a  metre,  2.3225  8 
varas  correspond  to  1.949  metres  =:  6,394  English  feet  r=^  I 
toise.-     Tram. 
4 


23     . 

1      . 

n 

2 

9a 

1      . 

9 

.     0 

07     . 

2     . 

9 

.     0 

r'TAP.  viii]         KINGDO'M  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  IQS 

^  ANAL™S^^]  f •  ^ntemhnctj  of  Mexico. 

that  even  at  the  foot  of  the  cascade  near  the  Hacienda 
del  Salto,  the  level  of  its  water  would  be  200  metres* 
below  the  river.  Martinez  could  not  stand  against 
the  power  of  prejudices  and  the  authority  of  the  an- 
cients !  We  think  that  if  it  is  prudent  to  give  little 
inclination  to  canals  of  navigation,  it  is  useful  to  give 
in  general  a  good  deal  to  canals  of  desiccation  ;  but 
there  arc  particular  cases  where  the  nature  of  the 
ground  will  not  admit  in  hydraulical  operations  of  all 
the  advantages  which  theory  may  prescribe. 

When  we  take  into  consideration  the  expense  of 
the  excavations  required  in  the  Rio  del  Desague,  from 
the  sluice  of  Vertideros  or  that  of  Valderas  to  the 
Boveda  Real,  we  are  tempted  to  believe  that  it  would, 
be,  perhaps,  easier  to  secure  the  capital  from  the  dan- 
gers with  which  it  is  still  threatened,  by  the  lake  of 
Tezcuco,  by  recurring  to  the  project  attempted  to 
be  carried  into  execution  by  Simon  Mendez  during 
the  great  inundation  from  1629  to  1634.  M.  Ve- 
lasquez examined  this  project  in  1774.  After  sur- 
veying the  ground,  that  geometrician  affirmed,  that 
28  pits  of  \  entilation,  and  a  subterraneous  gallery  of 
13,000  metresf  in  length,  for  bringing  the  water  of 
Tezcuco  across  the  mountains  of  Citlaltepec  towards 
the  river  of  Tequixquiac,  could  be  sooner  finished, 
and  at  less  expense,  than  the  enlarging  the  bed  of 
the  desague,  deepening  it  for  a  course  of  more  than 
9,000  metres,!  and  cutting  a  canal  from  the  lake  of 
Tezcuco  to  the  sluice  of  Vertideros  near  Huehuetoca. 
I  was  present  at  the  consultations  which  took  place 
in  1804  before  deciding  that  the  water  of  Tezcuco 
should  pass  through  the  old  cut  of  Nochistongo.  The 

*  656  feefr.     Trans,  f  42,650  feet.     Traws. 

\  29,527  feeb     Tram-. 


lQ4f  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  hi. 

^^ANAL™S^^i  ^'  Intendancy  of  Mexico. 

advantages  and  disadvantages  of  Mendez's  project 
were  never  discussed  in  diese  conferences. 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  in  digging  the  new  canal  of 
l^ezcuco  more  attention  will  be  paid  to  the  situation 
of  the  Indians  than  has  hitherto  been  done,  even  so 
late  as  1796  and  1798,  when  the  courses  of  Zumpan- 
FO  and  San  Christobal  were  executed.  The  Indians 
entertain  the  most  bitter  hatred  against  the  desague 
of  Huehuetoca.  A  hydraulical  operation  is  looked 
upon  by  them  in  the  light  of  a  public  calamity,  not 
only  because  a  great  number  of  individuals  have 
perished  by  unfortunate  accidents  in  Martinez's  ope- 
rations, but  especially  because  they  were  compelled 
to  labour  to  the  neglect  of  their  own  domestic  affairs, 
so  that  they  fell  into  the  greatest  indigence  while  the 
desiccation  was  going  on.  Many  thousands  of  In- 
dian labourers  have  been  almost  constantl}^  occupied 
in  the  desague  for  two  centuries ;  and  it  may  be  con- 
sidered as  a  principal  cause  of  the  poverty  of  the  In- 
dians in  the  valley  of  Mexico.  The  great  humidity 
to  which  they  were  exposed  in  the  trench  of  Nochis- 
tongo  gave  rise  to  the  most  fatal  maladies  among  them. 
Only  a  very  few  years  ago  the  Indians  were  cru- 
elly bound  with  ropes,  and  forced  to  work  like  galley 
slaves,  even  when  sick,  till  they  expired  on  the  spot. 
From  an  abuse  of  law,  and  especially  from  an  abiise 
of  the  principles  introduced  since  the  organization  of 
intendancies,  the  work  at  the  desague  of  Huehuetoca, 
is  looked  upon  as  an  extraordinary  corvee.  It  is  a 
personal  service  exigible  from  the  Indian,  a  remain 
of  the  mita,^-  which  we  should  not  expect  in  a  country 

*  See  above,  chap.  V.  The  Indian  is  paid  at  the  desague 
at  the  rate  of  two  reals  of /z/a^a,  or  25  sous  per  day(==ls. 
0  l-2rf.)  In  Martinez's  time,  in  the  17th  century,  the  Indians 
-.vere  only  paid  at  the  rate  of  5  reals  or  3  francs  per  v/eek  (z='2s. 


CHAP.  VIII.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  105 

^^iSl™^^]^-  Iritendanctj  of  Mexico. 

where  the  working  of  the  mines  is  perfectly  volunta- 
ry, and  where  the  Indian  enjoys  more  personal  liberty 
than  in  the  north-east  part  of  Euroi>e.  In  turning  the 
attention  of  the  viceroy  to  these  important  considera- 
tions, I  could  have  referred  to  the  numerous  testimo- 
nies contained  in  the  Informe  de  Zepeda*  In  every 
passage  of  it  we  read  "  that  the  desague  has  diminish- 
ed the  population  and  prosperity  of  the  Indians,  and 
that  such  or  such  a  hydraulical  project  dare  not  be 
carried  into  execution,  because  the  engineers  have  no 
longer  so  great  a  number  of  engineers  at  their  dispo- 
sal as  in  the  time  of  the  viceroy  Don  Luis  de  Velas- 
co  the  Second."  It  is  consoling,  however,  to  ob- 
serve, as  we  have  already  endeavoured  to  explain  in 
the  beginning  of  the  fourth  chapter,  that  this  pro- 
gressive depopulation  has  only  taken  place  in  the 
central  part  of  the  old  Anahuac. 

In  all  the  hydraulical  operations  of  the  valley  of 
Mexico,  water  has  been  always  regarded  as  an  ene- 
my, against  which  it  was  necessary  to  be  defended 
either  by  dikes  or  drains.  We  have  already  proved 
that  this  mode  of  proceeding,  especially  the  Euro- 
pean method  of  artificial  desiccation,  has  destroyed 
the  germ  of  fertility  in  a  great  part  of  the  plain  of 
Tenochtitlan.  Efflorescences  of  carbonate  of  soda 
{tequesquite)  having  increased  in  proportion  as  the 
masses  of  running  water  have  diminished.  Fine  sa- 
vannas have  gradually  assumed  the  appearance  of  arid 
steppes.  For  great  spaces  the  soil  of  the  valley  ap- 
pears merely  a  crust  of  hardened  clay,  (tepetate,) 
destitute  of  vegetation,  and  cracked  by  contact  with 
the  air.     It  would  have  been  easy,  however,  to  profit 


6£/.,)  but  they  also  received  a  certain   quantity  of  maize   for 
their  maintenance. 

VOL.  II.  O 


1Q()  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE         [book  hi. 

ANALYSIS,    l^'  ^i^te^(i(incy  of  Mexico. 

by  the  natural  advantages  of  the  ground,  in  applying 
the  same  canals  for  the   drawing  of  water  from  the 
lakes  for  wateiing  of  the  arid  plains,  and  for  interior 
navigation.     Large  basins  of  water  ranged  as  it  were 
in  stages  above  one  another  facilitate  the   execution 
of  canals  of  irrigation.     To  the  south-east  of  Hue- 
huetoca  are  three  sluices  called  los  Vert'ideros^  which 
are  opened  when  the  Rio  de  Guautitian  is  wished   to 
he  discharged  into  the  lake  of  Zumpango,  and  the 
Rio  del  Desague  to  be  thrown  dry  for  the  sake  of 
cleaning  or  deepening  the  course.     The  channel  of 
the  old  mouth  of  the  Rio  de  Guautitian,  that  which 
existed  in  1607,  having   become  gradually  oblitera- 
ted, a  new  canal  has  been  cyt  from  Vertiderosto  the 
lake  of  Zumpango.     In  place  of  continually  drawing 
the  water  from  this  lake,  and  from   San   Christobal, 
out  of  the  valley  towards  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  in  the 
interval  of  18  or  20  years,  during  which  no  extraor- 
dinary   rise  takes  place,  the   water  of  the  desague 
might  have  been  distributed  to  the  great  advantage 
of  agriculture  in  the  lower  parts  of  the  valley.     Re- 
servoirs of  water  might   have  been   constructed  for 
seasons  of  drought.     It  was  thought  preferable,  how- 
ever, blindly  to  follow  the  order  issued  from  Ma- 
drid, which  bears,  "  that  not  a  drop  of  water  ought 
to  enter  into  the  lake  of  Tezcuco  from  the   lake  of 
San  Christobal,  unless  once  a  year,  when  the  sluices 
{Lis  compuertas  de  la  Calzada)  are  opened  for  the  sake 
of  fishing*  in  the  basin    of  San    Christobal."     The 

•  This  fishins^  is  a  p;raiKl  rural  l\:i,tival  for  the  inhabitants  of 
the  capital.  The  Indians  construct  huts  on  the  banks  of  the 
liikc  of  San  Christobal,  M'hich  is  thrown  almost  dry  dunnj; 
the  fishins;.  This  bears  some  resemblance  to  the  fishing 
which  Herodotus  relates  the  Egyptians  carried  on  twice  a 
year  in  the  hiKt  JMoeris,  on  opening-  the  sluices  of  irrigation. 


CHAP,  vni]         KINGDOM  OF  NEW  Sl'AlN.  107 

^^KALYS^S^P-  If^tendancy  of  Mexico. 

trade  of  the  Indians  of  Tezcuco  languislies  for 
whole  months  from  the  want  of  water  in  the  suit 
lake  which  separates  them  from  tlie  capital ;  and  dis- 
tricts of  ground  lie  below  the  mt  an  level  of  the  water 
of  Guautitlan  and  of  the  northern  lakes  ;  and  yet  no 
idea  has  ever  been  entertained  for  ages  of  supplying 
the  wants  of  agriculture  and  interior  navigation.  From 
a  remote  period  there  was  a  small  canal  {sanjd)  from 
the  lake  of  Tezcuco  to  the  lake  of  San  Christobal. 
A  lock  of  four  metres*  of  fall  would  have  admitted 
canoes  from  the  capital  to  the  latter  of  these  lakes  ; 
and  the  canals  of  M.  Mier  would  have  even  conduct- 
ed them  to  the  village  of  Huehuetoca.  In  this  man- 
ner a  communication  would  have  been  established 
from  the  south  bank  of  the  lake  of  Chalco  to  the 
northern  bounds  of  the  valley,  for  an  extent  of  more 
than  80,000  metres. t  Men  of  the  best  information, 
animated  with  the  noblest  patriotic  zeal,  ha\e had  the 
courage  to  propose  these  measures  ;  J  but  the  govern- 
ment, by  rejecting  the  best  conceived  projects  for  such 
a  length  of  time,  seems  to  be  resolved  to  consider 
the  water  of  the  Mexican  lakes  merel}  as  a  destruc- 
tive element  from  which  the  environs  of  the  capital 
must  be  freed,  and  to  which  no  other  course  ought 
to  be  permitted  than  that  towards  the  Atlantic  Ocean. 
Now  that  the  canal  of  Tezcuco,  by  order  of  the 
viceroy  Don  Josef  de  Iturrigaray,  is  to  be  open- 
ed, there  will  remain  no  obstacle  to  a  free  naviga- 
tion through  the  large  and  beautiful  valley  of  Tc- 
nochtitlan.  Corn  and  the  other  productions  of  the 
districts  of  Tula  and  Guautitlan  will  come  by  water 

»  13  feet.      Trans.  t  262,468  feet.    Tram. 

\  M.  Velasquez,  for    example,  at    the  end    of  his    Informe 
sobre  elDei.ag.ic  f?4  S.) 


1(38  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  m 

^Y/alyS^^]  I-  Intendancy  of  Mexico, 

to  the  capital.  The  carriage  of  a  mule  load,  esti- 
mated at  300  pounds  weight,  costs  from  Huehue- 
toca  to  Mexico  five  reals,t  or  four  francs.  It  is 
computed  that  when  the  navigation  wA\  be  set  on 
foot,  the  freight  of  an  Indian  canoe  of  15,000  pounds 
burden  will  not  be  more  than  four  or  five  piastres,  J 
so  that  the  carriage  of  300  pounds  (which  make  a 
cargo)  will  only  cost  nine  sous.()  Mexico,  for  exam- 
ple, will  get  lime  at  six  or  seven  piastres!!  the  cart  load 
(carretada,)  while  the  present  price  is  from  10  to 
12  piastres.  II 

But  the  most  beneficial  eftect  of  a  navigable  ca- 
nal from  Chalco  to  Huehuetoca  will  be  experienced 
in  the  commerce  of  the  interior  of  New  Spain,  known 
by  the  name  of  Comercio  de  tierra  adentro^  which 
goes  in  a  sti'aight  line  from  the  capital  to  Durango, 
Chihuahua,  and  Santa  Fe,  in  New  Mexico.  Hue- 
huetoca may  hereafter  become  the  emporium  of 
this  important  trade,  in  which  from  fifty  to  sixty 
thousand  beasts  of  burden  (recuas)  are  constantly 
employed.  The  muleteers  {arrieros)  of  New  Bis- 
cay and  Santa  Fe  fear  nothing  so  much  in  the  whole 
road  of  500  leagues  as  the  journey  from  Huehue- 
toca to  Mexico,  The  roads  in  the  north-west  part 
of  the  valley,  where  the  basaltic  amygdaloid  is  co- 
vered with  a  large  stratum  of  clay,  are  almost  impas- 

*  A  double  piastre  contains  8  reals  de  Plata,  and  in  works 
on  the  Spanish  colonies  and  America,  Pesos  fitertes^  and 
Reales  de  Plata,  are  always  understood. 

t  4  francs=3s.  4rf,,  but  according  to  the  data  of  our  au- 
thor 5  reals  amount  only  to  2*.  8  3-4(/.     Trans. 

%  Ms.dd.oT  \L  Is.  lOrf.  sterling.'     Trans.     §  4  l-2rf.    Tranr,. 

I  I/.  6*.  3d.  or  1/.    10a.  Id.     Trans. 

II  From  2;'.  3s.  9(/.  to  21.  VZs.  6d.     Trans. 

6 


CHAP.viii.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  IQO 

STATISTICAL Ir     r  ^     j  r  ilj 

ANALYSIS.     5 1-  Intendancy  of  Mexico. 

sable  in  the  rainy  season.  Many  mules  perish  in 
them.  Those  which  stand  out  cannot  recover  from 
their  fatigues  in  the  environs  of  the  capital,  where 
there  is  no  good  pasturage  and  no  large  commons, 
(exidos^')  which  Huehuetoca  would  easily  supply. 
It  is  only  by  remaining  some  length  of  time  in 
countries  where  all  commerce  is  carried  on  by  cara- 
vans, either  of  camels  or  mules,  that  we  can  cor- 
rectiy  appreciate  the  influence  of  the  objects  under 
discussion  on  the  prosperity  and  comfort  of  the  in- 
habitants. 

The  lakes  situated  in  the  southern  part  of  the  val- 
ley of  Tenochtidan  throw  off  from  their  surface  mi- 
asmata of  sulphuretted  hydrogen,  which  become  sen- 
sible in  the  streets  of  Mexico  every  time  the  south 
wind  blows.  This  wind  is  therefore  considered  in 
the  country  as  extremely  unhealthy.  The  Aztecs  in 
their  hieroglyphical  writings  represented  it  by  a 
death's  head.  The  lake  of  Xochimilco  is  partly 
filled  with  plants  of  the  family  of  the  junci  and  cy- 
peroides,  which  vegetate  at  a  small  depth  under  a 
bed  of  stagnating  water.  It  has  been  recently  pro- 
posed* to  the  government  to  cut  a  navigable  canal 
in  a  straight  line  from  the  small  town  of  Chalco  to 
Mexico,  a  canal  which  would  be  shorter  by  a  third 
than  the  present  one ;  and  it  has  at  the  same  time 
been  projected  to  drain  the  basins  of  the  lakes 
of  Xochimilco  and  Chalco,  and  sell  the  ground, 
which  from  having  been  centuries  washed  with  fresh 
water  is  uncommonly  fertile.  The  centre  of  the 
lake  of  Chalco  being  somewhat  deeper  than  the  lake 
of  Tezcuco,  its  water  will  never  be  completely  drawn 
off.  Agriculture  and  the  salubrity  of  the  air  will 
be  equally  improved  by  the  execution  of  M.  Caste- 

*  Infomne  de  Don  Tgnacio  Castera,  (MS.)  folio  14. 


110  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  hi. 

STATISTICAL^  T     r.       /  j^  itt      ■ 

ANALYSIS.    5  ^-  ^ntenaancy  of  Mexico, 

ra's  project ;  for  the  south  extremity  of  the  valley 
possesses  in  general  the  soil  best  adapted  for  culti- 
vation. The  carbonate  and  muriate  of  soda  are  less 
abundant  from  the  continual  filtrations  occasioned 
by  the  numerous  rills  which  descend  from  the  Cer- 
ro  d'Axusco,  the  Guarda,  and  the  volcanoes.  It 
must  not,  however,  be  forgotten  that  the  draining 
of  the  two  lakes  will  have  a  tendency  to  increase 
still  farther  the  dryness  of  the  atmosphere  in  a  valley 
where  the  hygrometer  of  Deluc*  frequently  descends 
to  fifteen.  This  evil  is  inevitable,  if  no  attempt  is 
made  to  connect  these  hydraulical  operations  with 
some  general  system ;  the  multiplying  at  the  same 
time  canals  of  irrigation,  forming  reservoirs  of 
water  for  times  of  drought,  and  constructing  sluices 
for  the  sake  of  counteracting  the  different  pressures 
of  the  inequality  of  levels,  and  for  receiving  and 
withholding  the  increases  of  the  rivers.  These  re- 
servoirs of  water  distributed  at  suitable  elevations 
might  be  employed  at  the  same  time  in  cleaning  and 
working  periodically  the  streets  of  the  capital. 

In  the  epocha  of  a  nascent  civilization,  gigantic 
projects  are  much  more  seductive  than  more  simple 
ideas  of  easier  execution.  Thus,  in  place  of  establish- 
ing a  system  of  small  canals  for  the  interior  naviga- 
tion of  the  valley,  the  minds  of  the  inhabitants  have 
been  bewildered  since  the  time  of  the  viceroy  Count 
Revillagigedo  with  vague  speculations  on  the  possi- 
bility of  a  communication  by  water  between  the  ca- 
pital and  the  port  of  Tampico.     Seeing  the  water  of 


CHAP,  vxn.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  m 

STATISTICAL  I  ,     ,,       »  r  at 

ANALYSIS.    5  I-  Intendancy  oj  Mexico. 

the  lakes  descend  by  the  mountains  of  Nochistongo 
mto  the  Rio  de  Tula,  (called  also  Rio  de  Moctezu- 
ma,)  and  by  the  Rio  de  Panuco  into  the  gulf  of 
Mexico,  they  entertain  the  hope  of  opening  the 
same  route  to  the  commerce  of  Vera  Cruz.  Goods 
to  the  value  of  more  than  100  millions  of  livres"*^ 
are  annually  transported  on  mules  from  the  Atlantic 
coast  over  the  interior  table- land,  while  the  flour, 
hides,  and  metals  descend  from  the  central  table-land 
to  Vera  Cruz.  The  capital  is  the  emporium  of  this 
immense  commerce.  The  road,  which,  if  no  canal 
is  attempted,  is  to  be  carried  from  the  coast  to  Perote, 
will  cost  several  millions  of  piastres.  Hitherto  the 
air  of  the  port  of  Tampico  has  appeared  not  so  pre- 
judicial to  the  health  of  Europeans  and  the  inhabitants 
of  the  cold  regions  of  Mexico  as  the  climate  of  Vera 
Cruz.  Although  the  bar  of  Tampico  prevents  the 
entry  of  vessels  into  the  port  drawing  more  than  from 
45  to  60  decimetres  water,|  it  would  still  be  pre- 
ferable to  the  dangerous  anchorage  among  the  shal- 
lows of  Vera  Cruz.  From  these  circumstances  u 
navigation  from  the  capital  to  Tampico  would  be  de- 
sirable, whatever  expense  might  be  requisite  for  the 
execution  of  so  bold  an  undertaking. 

But  it  is  not  the  expense  which  is  to  be  feared  in 
a  country  where  a  private  individual,  the  Count  de 

♦  4,167,000/.  sterlinjT.      Trans. 

t  From  14.763,  say  14  ;''>-4  feet,  to  19.615=19  feet  8  inches. 
M.  Humboldt  observes,  vol.  I.  p.  63.  "  that  the  coast  of  New 
Spain  from  the  18"  to  the  26"  of  latitude  abounds  with  bars; 
and  vessels  which  draw  more  than  32  centimetres  (i,  e. 
12  1-2  inches)  of  water  cannot  pass  over  any  of  these  bars 
without  danger  of  grounding."  How  does  the  bar  of  Tampi- 
co, then,  which  is  within  these  latitudes,  admit  of  vessels 
drawing  14  and  19  feet  water?     Trans. 


112  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  hi. 

TATISTICA 
ANALYSIS. 


STATISTICAL  I  j^  j^tendajicy  of  Mexico. 


la  Valenciana,  dug  in  a  single  mine*  three  pits  at  an 
expense  of  eight  millions  and  a  half  of  francs-f  Nor 
can  we  deny  the  possibility  of  carrying  a  canal  into 
execution  from  the  valley  of  Tenochtitlan  to  Tam- 
pico.  In  the  present  state  of  hydraulical  architecture 
boats  may  be  made  to  pass  over  elevated  chains  of 
mountains,  wherever  nature  ofters  points  of  separation 
which  communicate  with  two  principal  recipients. 
Many  of  these  points  have  been  indicated  by  Ge- 
neral Andreossy  in  the  Vosges  and  other  parts  of 
France.  I  M.  de  Piony  made  a  calculation  of  the 
time  that  a  boat  would  take  to  pass  the  Alps,  if  by 
means  of  the  lakes  situated  near  the  hospital  of  Mount 
Cenis  a  communication  were  established  by  water 
between  Lans-le-bourg  and  the  valley  of  Suze, 
This  illustrious  engineer  proved  by  his  calculation 
how  much  in  that  particular  case,  land  carriage  was 
to  be  preferred  to  the  tediousness  of  locks.  The  in- 
clined planes,  invented  by  Reynolds,  and  carried  to 
perfection  by  Fulton,  and  the  locks  of  MM.  Huldles- 
ton  and  Betencourt,  tvC^o  conceptions  equally  appli- 
cable to  the  system  of  small  canals,  have  greatly  mul- 
tiplied the  means  of  navigation  in  mountainous  coun- 
tries. But  however  great  the  economy  of  water  and 
time  at  which  we  can  arrive,  there  is  a  certain  maxi- 
mum of  height  in  the  predominant  point  beyond 
which  water  is  no  longer  preferable  to  land  carriage. 
The  water  of  the  lake  of  Tezcuco,  east  from  the 
capital  of  Mexico,  is  more  than  2,276  metres^  ele- 
vated above  the  level  of  the  sea,  near  the  port  of 
Tampico  !     Two  hundred  locks  would  be  requisite 

*  Near  Guanaxuato.  t  354,195/.  sterling.  >  I'mns. 

\  Andreossy,  sur  le  Canal  du  Midi. 
§  7,465  feet.     Trann. 


€HAP.  VIII.]        KINGDOM'  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  \i^ 

^^AiSl™^^]  '•  Jntendancij  of  Mexico. 

to  carry  boats  to  so  enormous  a  height.  If  on  the 
Mexican  canal  the  levels  were  to  be  distributed,  as 
in  the  Canal  du  Midi,  the  highest  point  of  which  (at 
Naurouse)  has  only  a  perpendicular  elevation  of  189 
metres,*  the  number  of  locks  would  amount  to  330 
or  340.  I  know  nothing  of  the  bed  of  the  Rio  de 
Moctezuma  beyond  the  valley  of  Tula,  (the  ancient 
Tollan,)  and  I  am  ignorant  of  its  partial  fi^ll  from  the 
vicinity  of  Zimapan  and  the  Doctor.  I  recollect, 
however,  that  in  the  great  rivers  of  South  America, 
canoes  ascend  without  locks  for  distances  of  180 
leagues,  against  the  current,  either  by  towing  or  row- 
ing to  elevations  of  300  metres  ;t  but  notwithstanding 
this  analog/,  and  that  of  the  great  works  executed  in 
Europe,  I  can  hardly  persuade  myself  that  a  naviga- 
ble canal  from  the  plain  of  Anahuac  to  the  Atlantic 
coast  is  a  hydraulical  work,  the  execution  of  which 
is  anywise  advisable. 

The  following  are  the  remarkable  towns  {ciudades  y 
villas)  of  the  intendancy  of  Mexico. 

Mexico,  capital  of  the  kingdom  of  New    Population. 
Spain,  height  2,277  metres,^  137,000 

Tezcuco,  which  formerly  possessed  very 
considerable  cotton  manufactories.  They 
have  suffered  much,  how-ever,  in  a  compe- 
tition with  those  of  Queretaro,  5,000 

Cuyoacan,  containing  a  convent  of  nuns, 
founded  by  Hernan  Cortez,  in  which,  ac- 
cording to  his  testament,  the  great  captain 
wished  to  be  interred,  *'  in  whatever  part 

*  620  feet.      Trana.  t  984  feci.     TVatt*. 

\  7,470  feet.     Trar.r,. 
VOL.    II.  P 


¥ 


114  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE         [book  hi; 

^Ynai!ysis.^P-  J^ntetidancy  of  Mexico, 

of  the  world  he  should  end  his  days."  We  Population, 
have  already  stated  that  this  clause  of  the 
testament  was  never  fulfilled. 

Tacuhaya^  west  from  this  capital,  con- 
taining the  archbishop's  palace  and  a  beau- 
tiful plantation  of  European  olive  trees. 

Taciiba^  the  ancient  Tlacopan,  capital  of 
a  small  kingdom  of  the  Tepanecs. 

Cuernavaca,  the  ancient  Quauhnahuac, 
on  the  south  declivity  of  the  Cordillera 
of  Guchilaque,  in  a  temperate  and  deli- 
cious climate,  finely  adapted  for  the  culti- 
vation of  the  fruit  trees  of  Europe.  Height,* 
1,655  metres.f 

Chilpansingo,  (Chilpantzinco,)  surround- 
ed with  fertile  fields  of  wheat.  Elevation, 
1,080  metres.J 

Tasco^  (Tlachco,)  containing  a  beautiful 
parish  church,  constructed  and  endowed 
towards  the  middle  of  the  18th  century  by 
Joseph  de  Laborde,    a   Frenchman,   who 

*  5,429  feet.      Trans. 

t  M-  Alzate  affirms,  in  the  Literary  Gazette,  published  at 
Mexico,  (1760,  p.  220.)  that  the  absolute  height  of  places  has 
very  little  influence  in  New  Spain  on  the  temperature.  He 
cites  as  an  example  the  city  of  Cuernavaca,  which,  accord- 
ing to  him,  is  at  the  same  height  above  the  level  of  the  sea 
■with  the  capital  of  Mexico,  and  which  only  owes  its  delicious 
climate  to  its  position  south  of  a  high  chain  of  mountains. 
But  M.  Alzate  has  fallen  into  an  error  of  more  than  600  me- 
tres in  the  elevation  of  Cuernavaca.  Cortez,  who  changes 
all  the  names  of  the  Aztec  language,  calls  this  town  Coadna- 
baced,  a  Mord  in  which  we  can  with  difficulty  recognise 
Quauhnahuac.  {Carta  de  Rclacion  al  Em/ierador  Don  Carles^ 
paragraph  19.) 

\  3,542  feet.      Trans. 


CHAP.  VIII.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  H5 

STATISTICAL  7  T     ,,      ,  /•  Tir     ;  « 

ANALYSIS.    3  I-  Inte7idancy  of  Mexwo. 

gained  immense  wealth  in  a  short  time  by  population, 
the  Mexican  mines.  Tlie  building  of  this 
church  alone  cost  this  individual  more  than 
two  millions  of  francs.*  Towards  the  end 
of  his  career,  being  reduced  to  great  po- 
verty, he  obtained  from  the  archbishop  of 
Mexico  permission  to  sell  for  his  benefit  to 
the  metropolitan  church  of  the  capital,  the 
magnificent  ciistodia  set  with  diamonds, 
which,  in  better  times,  he  had  offered 
through  devotion  to  the  tabernacle  of  the 
parish  church  of  Tasco.  Elevation  of  the 
city,  783  metres,  f 

Acapulco,  (Acapolco,)  at  the  back  of  a 
chain  of  granitical  mountains,  which,  from 
the  reverberation  of  the  radiathig  caloric, 
increase  the  suffocating  heat  of  the  cli- 
mate. The  famous  cut  in  the  moun- 
tain, [abra  de  San  J\'icoias,)  near  the 
bay  de  la  Langosta,  for  the  admission 
of  the  sea  winds,  was  recently  finished. 
The  population  of  this  miserable  town,  in- 
habited almost  exclusively  by  people  of 
colour,  amounts  to  9,000,  at  the  line  of  the 
arrival  of  the  Manilla  galleon,  {JVao  de  Chi- 
na.)   Its  habitual  population  is  only  4,000 

Zacatula^  a  small  sea-port  of  the  South 
Sea,  on  the  frontiers  of  the  intcndancy  of 
Valladolid,  between  the  ports  of  Siguanta- 
nejo  and  Colima. 

Lerma^  at  the  entry  of  the  valley  of  To- 
luca,  in  a  marshy  ground. 

*  &3,340/.  sterling.      Trans.  +  3,567  feet'.      Tram-. 


IIQ  POLITIC  At.  ESSAY  ON  THE  tsoOK  Tti. 

^ANALYS?s'^^p-  Intendancy  of  Mexico. 

Toluca^    (Tolocan,)  at  the  foot  of  the   population, 
porphyry  mountain  of  San  Miguel  dc  Tu- 
tucuitlalpilco,   in  a  valley  abounding  with 
maize  and  maguey,  (agave.)  Height,  2,687 
metres.* 

Pachuca,  with  Tasco,  the  oldest  mi- 
ning-place in  the  kingdom,  as  the  neigh- 
bouring village,  Pachuquillo,  is  supposed 
to  have  been  the  first  christian  village 
founded  by  the  Spaniards.  Height,  2,482 
metres,  t 

Cadereitay  with  fine  quarries  of  porphyry 
of  a  clay  base,  [thonporphyr.) 

San  Juan  del  Rio,  surrounded  with  gar- 
dens, adorned  with  vines  and  anona.  Height, 
1,978  metres.^ 

Queretaroy  celebrated  for  the  beauty  of 
its  edifices,  its  aqueduct,  and  cloth  manu- 
factures. Height,  1,940  metres.^  Habi- 
tual population,  3  5, ©00 

This  city  contains  11,600  Indians,  85  secular 
ecclesiastics,  181  monks,  and  143  nuns.  The 
consumption  of  Qucretaro  amounted,  in  1793, ||  to 
13,618  cargas  of  wheaten  flour,  69,445  fanegas  of 
maize,  656  cargas  of  chile,  (capsicum,)  1,770  barrels 
of  brandy,  1,682  beeves,  14,949  sheep,  and  8,869 
hogs. 


*  8,813  feet.     Tratia.  t  8,141  feet.     Trans, 

t  6,489  feet.     Trans.  %  6,374  feet.     Trana. 

I]  JVbtiCta  del  Doctor  Don  Juan  Jgnacio  Brionesj  (MS.) 


C^Ap.viii.}      KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  ^17 

ANALYSIS.    5  !•  Intendancy  of  New  Mexico, 

The  most  important  mines  of  this  intendancy,  con- 
sidering them  only  in  the  relation  of  their  present 
"iveahh,  are  : 

La  Feta  Biscaina  de  Real  del  Monfe^  near  Pa- 
chuca ;  Zimapatty  el  Doctor y  and  Tehulilotepecy  near 
Tasco, 


118 


POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  hi; 


STATISTICAL 
ANALYSIS. 

Population 
in 

1803. 

Extent  of 
Surface  in 

square 
Lea  gues . 

No.  of  Inhabit- 
ants to  the 
square  League. 

II.  Intendancv  of 
Puebla.  ' 

813,300 

2,696 

301 

This  intendancy,  which  has  only  a  coast  of  26 
leagues  towards  the  Great  Ocean,  extends  from  the 
16"  o7'  to  the  20"  40'  of  north  latitude,  and  is  con- 
sequently wholly  situated  in  the  torrid  zone.  It  is 
bounded  on  the  north- east  by  the  intendancy  of  Vera 
Cruz,  on  the  east  by  the  intendancy  of  Oaxaca,  on 
the  south  by  the  ocean,  and  on  the  west  by  the  inten- 
dancy of  Mexico.  Its  greatest  length,  from  the 
mouth  of  the  small  river  Tecoyame  to  near  Mextitlan, 
is  118  leagues,  and  its  greatest  breadth  from  Techu- 
acan  to  Mecameca,  is  50  leagues. 

The  greater  part  of  the  intendancy  of  Puebla  is  tra- 
versed by  the  high  Cordilleras  of  Anahuac.  Beyond 
the  18th  degree  of  latitude,  the  whole  country  is  a 
plain  eminently  fertile  in  wheat,  maize,  agave,  and 
fruit  trees.  This  plain  is  from  1,800  to  2,000  me- 
tres* above  the  level  of  the  ocean.  In  this  inten- 
dancy  is  also  the  most  elevated  mountain  of  all  New 
Spain,  the  Popocatepetl.  This  volcano,  first  mea- 
sured by  me,  is  continually  burning ;  but  for  these 
several  centuries  it  has  thrown  nothing  up  from  its 
crater  but  smoke  and  ashes.  This  mountain  is  600 
metres"!  higher  than  the  most  elevated  summit  of  the. 

«  From  5,905  to  6,561  feet.     Tra7js. 
t  1,963  feet.      Trar^. 


CHAP.  VIII.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  ng 

ANALYsiS^^i  ^^-  I^^tejidancy  of  Piiebla. 

old  continent.  From  the  isthmus  of  Panama  to  Bee- 
ring's  Straits,  which  separate  Asia  from  America,  wc 
know  only  of  one  mountain,  MoJit  St.  Elie,  higher 
than  the  great  volcano  of  Pucbla. 

The  population  of  this  intendancy  is  still  more  une- 
qually distributed  than  that  of  the  intendancy  of 
Mexico.  It  is  concentrated  on  the  plain  which  ex- 
tends from  the  eastern  declivity  of  the  JS'evados*  to 
the  environs  of  Perote,  especially  on  the  high  and 
beautiful  plains  between  Cholula,  La  Puebia,  and 
Tlascala.  Almost  the  whole  country,  from  the  cen- 
tral table- land  towards  San  Luis  and  Ygualapa,  near 
the  South  Sea  coast,  is  desert,  though  well  adapted 
for  the  cultivation  of  sugar,  cotton,  and  the  other 
precious  productions  of  the  tropics. 

The  table-land  of  La  Puebia  exhibits  remarkable 
vestiges  of  ancient  Mexican  civilization.  The  forti- 
fications of  Tlaxcallan  are  of  a  construction  posterior 
to  that  of  the  great  pyramid  of  Cholula,  a  curious 
monument,  of  which  I  shall  give  a  minute  descrip- 
tion in  the  historical  account  of  my  travels  in  the  in- 
terior of  the  new  continent.  It  is  sufficient  to  state 
here,  that  this  pyramid,  on  the  top  of  which  I  made  a 
great  number  of  astronomical  observations,  consists 
of  four  stages ;  that  in  its  present  state  the  perpendi- 

*  Tlie  words  JSfevado  and  Sierra  jVcvada  do  not  mean  in 
Spanish,  mountains  which  from  time  to  time  are  covered  with 
snow  in  summer,  but  summits  which  enter  the  region  of  per- 
petual snow.  I  prefer  this  foreign  word  to  the  length  of  pe- 
riphrases, or  the  improper  expression  of  snowy  mountains, 
sometimes  used  by  the  academicians  sent  to  Peru.  More- 
over, the  word  Nevado,  when  it  is  joined  to  the  name  of  a 
mountain,  gives  an  idea  of  the  minimum  of  height  attributa- 
ble to  its  summit.  (See  Reciieil  de  mes  Observations  Antro- 
'lomiques,  Vol.  I.  p.  134.) 


J20  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  hi. 

ANALYSIS,     i  ^^'  Intendancy  of  Puebla, 

cular  elevation  is  only  54  metres,*  and  the  horizon- 
tal breadth  of  the  base  439  metres  ;t  that  its  sides 
are  very  exactly  in  the  direction  of  the  meridians 
and  parallels,  and  that  it  is  constructed  (if  we  may 
judge  from  the  perforation  made  a  few  years  ago  in 
the  north  side)  of  alternate  strata  of  brick  and  clay. 
These  data  are  sufficient  for  our  recognising  in  the 
construction  of  this  edifice  the  same  model  observed 
in  the  form  of  the  pyramids  of  Teotihuacan,  of 
which  we  have  already  spoken.  They  suffice  also  to 
prove  the  great  analogy  J  between  these  brick  monu- 
ments erected  by  the  most  ancient  inhabitants  of  Ana- 
huac,  the  temple  of  Belus  at  Babylon,  and  the  pyra- 
mids of  Menschich-Dashour,  near  Sakhara  in  Egypt. 
The  platform  of  the  truncated  pyramid  of  Cholula 
has  a  surface  of  4,200  square  metres.^  In  the  midst 
of  it  there  is  a  church  dedicated  te  Nuestra  Senora 
de  los  Remedies,  surrounded  with  cypress,  in  which 
mass  is  celebrated  every  morning  by  an  ecclesiastic 
of  Indian  extraction,  whose  habitual  abode  is  the 
summit  of  this  monument.  It  is  from  this  platform 
that  we  enjoy  the  delicious  and  majestic  view  of  the 
Volcan  de  la  Puebla,  the  Pic  d' Orizaba,  and  the 
small  Cordillera  of  Matlacueye,j|  which  formerly 
separated  the  territory  of  the  Cholulans  from  that  of 
the  Tlascaltec  republicans. 

*  177  feet.      Trans.  t  1,423  feet.     Trans. 

\  Zoego  de  Obeliscisy  p.  380  ;  Voyages  de  Pococke,  (edition 
de  jYeufc/iatel,)  1752,  torn.  i.  p.  156  and  167  ;  Voyage  de  De- 
non,  4to.  edit.  p.  86.  194.  and  237  j  Grobert  Description  des 
Pyra7nidesy  p.  6.   and  12. 

§  45,208  square  feet  English.     Tram. 

II  Called  also  the  Sierra  Malinchel,  or  Dona  Maria.  Ma- 
jinche  appears  to  be  derived  from  Mulintzin,  a  word  (I  know 
not  why;  which  is  no>v  the  n^mc  of  the  Holy  Virgin. 


GBAf.  viri.}  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  12 1 

^  ANALyIs^"'!  II-  Intencbncj  of  Puebla. 

The  pyramid,  or  teocalli,  of  Cholula  is  exactly  of 
the  same  height  as  the  Tonatiiih  Itzaqual  of  Teoti- 
huacan,  already  described ;  and  it  is  three  metres* 
higher  than  the  Mycerinus,  or  the  third  of  the  great 
Egyptian  pyramids  of  the  group  of  Ghize.  As  to 
the  apparent  length  of  its  base,  it  exceeds  that  of  all 
the  edifices  of  the  same  description  hitherto  found  by 
travellers  in  the  old  continent,  and  is  almost  the  double 
of  the  great  pyramid  known  by  the  name  of  Cheops. 
Those  who  wish  to  form  a  clear  idea  of  the  great 
mass  of  this  Mexican  monument  from  a  comparison 
with  objects  more*  generally  known,  may  imagine  u 
square  four  times  the  dimensions  of  the  Place  Ven- 
dome,  covered  with  a  heap  of  bricks  of  twice  the  ele- 
vation of  the  Louvre !  The  whole  of  the  interior  of 
the  pyramid  of  Cholula  is  not,  perhaps,  composed 
of  brick.  These  bricks,  as  was  suspected  by  a  cele- 
brated antiquary  at  Rome,  M.  Zoega,  probably  form 
merely  an  incrustation  of  a  heap  of  stones  and  lime, 
like  many  of  the  pyramids  of  Sakhara,  visited  by  Po- 
cocke,  and  more  recently  by  M.  Grobert.f  Yet  the 
road  from  Puebla  to  Mecameca,  "carried  across  a  part 
of  the  first  stage  of  the  teocalli,  does  not  agree  with 
this  supposition. 

We  know  not  the  ancient  height  of  this  extraor- 
dinary monument.  In  its  present  state,  the  length 
of  its  basej  is  to  its  perpendicular  height  as  8  :  1 ; 

*  9.8  feet.     Trans. 

t  See  note  E.  at  the  end  of  the  work. 

\  I  shall  here  subjoin  the  true  dimensions  of  the  three 
great  pyramids  of  Ghize,  from  the  interesting  work  of  M. 
Grobert.  I  shall  place  in  adjoining  columns  the  dimensions 
of  the  brick  pyramidal  monuments  of  Sakhara,  in  Egypt,  and 

V«L.  II.  Q 


122  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  hi. 

'^ Yn  ^lySs.^^  ]  ^^'  ^'^^^^dancy  of  Puehla, 

w  hilc  in  the  three  great  pyramids  of  Ghize,  this  pro- 
portion is  as  1  G-io  and  1 7-io  to  1',  or  nearly  as  8 
to  5.  We  have  already  observed  that  the  houses  of 
the  sun  and  moon,  or  the  pyramidal  monuments  of 
Teotihuacan  north-east  from  Mexico,  are  surrounded 
with  a  system  of  small  pyramids  arranged  symmet- 
rically. M.  Grobert  has  published  a  very  curious 
drawing  of  the  equally  regular  disposition  of  the 
small  pyramids  which  surround  the  Cheops  and  My- 

of  Teotihuacan  and  Cholula,  in  Mexico.     The  numbers  are 
French  feet.    (A  French  toot  =  I  066  English.) 


Stone  pyramids. 


Cheops 


Height. 

Length  of 

Base. 


448 
728 


Ccphren 


398 
655 


Myceri- 

uus. 


162 
280 


Brick  pyramids. 


Of  Five 

Stages  in 

Egypt,  near 

Sakliara. 


lOf  Four  Stages  in 
Mexieo. 


150 
210 


Teotihu- 
acan. 


171 

645 


Cholula 

172 
1355 


It  is  curious  to  observe,  1.  That  the  people  of  Anahuac  have 
had  the  intention  of  giving  the  height  and  the  double  base  of 
the  Tonatiuh  Itztaqual  to  the  pyramid  of  Cholula ;  and,  2. 
That  the  greatest  of  all  the  Egyptian  pyramids,  that  of  Asy- 
chiii,  of  which  the  base  is  800  feet  in  length,  is  of  brick  aiui 
not  of  stone.  (^Groberl,  p.  6.)  The  cathedral  of  Strasbourg  is 
eight  feet,  and  the  cross  of  St.  Peter,  at  Rome,  41  feet,  lower 
than  the  Cheops.  There  are  in  Mexico  pyramids  of  several 
stages,  in  the  forests  of  Papantla,  at  a  small  elevation  above 
the  level  of  the  sea,  and  in  the  plains  of  Cholula  and  Teoti- 
huacan, at  elevations  surpassing  those  of  our  passes  in  the 
Alps.  We  are  astonished  to  see  in  regions  the  most  remote 
tVom  one  another,  and  under  climates  of  the  greatest  diversi- 
ty, man  following  the  same  model  in  his  edifices,  in  his  orna- 
menis,  in  his  habits,  and  even  in  the  form  of  his  political  insti- 
luiioiis. 


CHAP.  VIII  J       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  12;^ 

STATISTICAL^  IT     j^      ,  />d     // 

ANALYSIS.    5  li-  Intendancij  of  Puebla. 

cerinus  at  Ghizc.  The  teocalli  of  Cholula,  if  it  is 
allowable  to  compare  it  with  these  great  Ei^}'ptian 
monuments,  appears  to  have  been  constructed  on  an 
analogous  plan.  We  still  discover  on  the  western 
side,  opposite  the  cerros  of  Tccaxete  and  Zapoteca, 
two  completely  prismatical  masses.  One  of  these 
masses  now  bears  the  name  of  Alcosac,  or  Istenenetl, 
and  the  other  that  of  the  Cerro  de  la  Cruz.  The 
elevation  of  the  latter,  which  is  constructed  en  pise, 
is  only  15  metres.* 

The  intendancy  of  Puebla  gratifies  the  curiosity 
of  the  traveller  also  with  one  of  the  most  ancient 
monuments  of  vegetation.  The  famous  ahahuete,t 
or  cypress  of  the  village  of  Atlixco,  is  23;^*.  3, J  or 
73  feet  in  circumference.  Measured  interiorly,  (for 
its  trunk  is  hollow,)  the  diameter  is  15  feet.§  This 
cypress  of  Atli:!«co  is,  therefore,  to  within  a  few  feet, 
of  the  same  thicknessH  as  the  baobab  (Adansonia 
digitata)  of  the  Senegal. 

The  district  of  the  old  republic  of  Tlaxcalla,  inha- 
bited by  Indians  jealous  of  their  privileges,  and  very 
much  inclined  to  civil  dissensions,  has  for  a  long  time 
formed  a  particular  government.  I  have  indicated  il 
in  my  general  map  of  New  Spain  as  still  belonging 
to  the  intendancy  of  Puebla  ;  but  by  a  recent  change 
in  the  financial  administration,  Tlaxcalla  and  Guaut- 
la  de  las  Hamilpas  were  united  to  the  intendancy  of 
Mexico,  and  Tlapa  and  Ygualapa  separated  from  it. 

*  49  feet.     Trans.         t  Cupressus  disticha.     Lin. 

\  76.4  feet  English.      Trans.      §  16  feet  English.    Trans. 

II  See  as  to  the  antiquity  of  the  vcgetahle  species,  my  mcv 
moir  on  the  physiognomy  of  plants,  in  my  Tableaux  dr  la  .\'a- 
tiire^  lorn.  II.  p.  108.  and  137. 


124  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  m 

ANALYSIS.    3  ^^*  Intendancy  of  Puebla. 

There  were  in  1793,  in  the  intendancy  of  Puebla, 
without  including  the  four  districts  of  Tlaxcalla, 
Guautla,  Ygualapa,  and  Tlapa  : 


Indians, 

Spaniards    or 
whites, 

Mixed  race, 


Males  . 
Females 
Males  . 
Females 

Males  . 
F"  males 


Secular  ecclesiastics 
Monks  .... 
Nuns 


187,531  souls. 

186,221 

25,617 

29,363 

37,31& 

40,590 

585 

446 

427 


Result  of  the  total  enumeration,  508,098  souls, 
distributed  into  6  cities,  133  parishes,  607  villages, 
425  farms,  {haciendas^)  886  solitary  houses,  (ranchos,) 
and  33  convents,  two-thirds  of  which  are  for  monks. 

The  government  of  Tlaxcalla  contained  in  1793  a 
population  of  59,177  souls,  whereof  21,849  were 
male  and  21,029  female  Indians.  The  boasted  pri- 
vileges of  the  citizens  of  Tlaxcalla  are  reducible 
to  the  three  following  points:  1.  The  town  is  go- 
verned by  a  cacique  and  four  Indian  alcaldes,  who 
represent  the  ancient  heads  of  the  four  quarters,  still 
called  Tecnectipac,  Ocotelolco,  Quiahutztlan,  and 
Tizatlan.  These  aical  des  are  under  the  dependance 
of  an  Indian  governor,  who  is  himself  subject  to  the 
Spanish  intendant ;  2.  The  whites  have  no  seat  in 
the  municipality,  in  virtue  of  a  royal  cedula  of  the 
16th  April,  1585  ;  and,  3.  The  cacique,  or  Indian 
governor,  enjoys  the  honours  of  an  alferez  real. 

The  district  of  Cholula  contained  in  1793  a  popu- 
lation of  22,423  souls.  The  villages  amounted  to 
42,  and  the  farms  to  45.     Cholula,  Tlaxcalla,  and 


QHAP.  vin.]  KINGDOM  OF  NEW"  S1»A1N.  125 

STATISTICAL^  TT     r,       ;  r  jj      1 1 

\NALYSIS.    3  ^^*  ■i'lt'^fXttifii'!/  0/   Jruchla. 

Huetxocingo,  are  the  three  republics  whicli  resisted 
the  Mexican  yoke  for  so  many  centuries,  allhoui^h 
the  pernicious  aristocracy  of  their  constitution  lelt 
the  lower  people  little  more  freedom  than  they  would 
Iiave  possessed  under  the  government  of  the  Aztec 
kings. 

The  progress  of  the  industry  and  prosperity  of  this 
province  has  been  extremely  slow,  notwithstanding 
the  active  zeal  of  an  intendant  equally  enlightened 
and  respectable,  Don  Manuel  de  Flon,  who  lately 
inherited  the  title  ©f  Count  de  la  Cadena.  The  flour 
*trade,  formerly  very  flourishing,  has  suftbred  much 
from  the  enormous  price  of  caniage  from  the  Mexi- 
can table-land  to  the  Havannah,  and  especially  from 
the  want  of  beasts  of  burden.  The  commerce  which 
Puebla  carried  on  till  1710  with  Peru  in  hats  and 
delft  ware  has  entirely  ceased.  But  the  greatest  ob- 
stacle to  the  public  prosperity  arises  from  four-fifths 
of  the  whole  property  {Jincas)  belonging  to  mort- 
main proprietors;  that  is  to  say,  to  communities  of 
monks,  to  chapters,  corporations,  and  hospitals. 

The  intendancy  of  Puebla  has  very  considerable 
salt  works  near  Chila,  Xicotlan,  and  Ocotlan,  (in  the 
district  of  Chiautla,)  as  also  near  Zapotitlan.  The 
beautiful  marble,  known  by  the  name  of  Puebla  mar- 
ble, which  is  preferable  to  that  of  Bizaron,  and  the 
Real  del  Doctor,  is  procured  in  the  quarries  of  To- 
tamehuacan  and  Tecali,  at  two  and  seven  leagues 
distance  from  the  capital  of  the  intendancy.  The 
carbonate  of  lime  of  Tecali  is  transparent,  like  the 
gypsous  alabaster  of  Volterra  and  the  Phcngitcs  of 
the  ancients. 

The  indigenous  of  this  province  speak  three  lan- 
guages totally  different  from  one  another,  the  Mexi- 
can, Totonac,  andTlapanco.     The  first  is  peculiar 


126  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  in 

^  ANaSsb'^''  I  "•  Intcndancy  of  Puehla. 

to  the  inhabitants  of  Piiebla,  Chokila,  and  Tlascalla  ; 
the  second  to  the  inhabitants  of  Zacatlan ;  and  the 
third  is  preserved  in  the  environs  of  Tlapa. 

The  most  remarkable  towns  of  the  intendancy  of 
Puebla  are  : 

Population. 

La  Puebla  de  los  Angeles,  the  capital 
of  the  intendancy,  more  populous  than 
Lima,  Quito,  Santa  Fe,  and  Caraccas ;  and, 
after  Mexico,  Guanaxuato,  and  the  Havan- 
nahj'the  most  considerable  city  of  the  Spa- 
nish colonies  of  the  new  continent.  La 
Puebla  is  one  of  the  small  number  of 
American  towns  founded  by  European  co- 
lonists ;  for  in  the  plain  of  Acaxete,  or 
Cuitlaxcoapan,  on  the  spot  where  the  ca- 
pital of  the  province  now  stands,  there  were 
only  in  the  beginning  of  the  16th  century 
a  few  huts  inhabited  by  Indians  of  Cholula. 
The  privilege  of  the  town  of  Puebla  is 
dated  28th  Sept.  153  L  The  consumption 
of  the  inhabitants  in  1802  amounted  to 
52,951  cargas  (of  300  pounds  each)  of 
wbeaten  flour,  and  36,000  cargas  of  maize. 
Height  of  the  ground  at  the  Plaza  Mayor 
2,196  metres.*  67,800 

Tlascalla  is  so  much  reduced  from  its 
ancient  grandeur,  that  it  scarcely  contains 
3,400  inhabitants,  among  whom  there  are 
not  more  than  900  Indians  of  pure  extrac- 
tion. Yet  Hernan  Cortez  found  a  popu- 
lation in  this  place  which  appeared  to  him 
greater  than  that  of  Granada.  3,400 

*r,381  feet.     Trans. 
6 


*  HAP.  VIM.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN. 

TATISTICA 

ANALYSIS, 


127 


STATISTICAL^  II.  Intendancij  of  Puebla. 


Pcpul.^iidii. 


Cholulay  called  by  Cortez*  Churultecol, 
surrounded  by  beautiful  plantations  of 
agave.  16,000 

Atiijcco^  justly  celebrated  for  the  fine- 
ness of  its  climate,  great  fertility,  and  the 
savoury  fruits  with  which  it  abounds,  es- 
pecially the  anona  cheremolia,  Lin.  [Chili- 
moi/a,)  and  several  sorts  of  passiflores,  {par- 
c/ias,)  produced  in  the  environs. 

Tehiiacan  de  las  Granadas,  the  ancient 
Teohuacan  de  la  Mizteca,  one  of  the  most 
frequented  sanctuaries  of  the  Mexicans 
before  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards. 

Tepeaca^  or  Tepeyacac^  belonging  to  the 
marquisate  of  Cortez.     It  was  called  in  the 

•  This  great  conquistador,  with  a  simplicity  of  style  for 
which  his  writings  are  characterized,  draws  a  curious  picture 
of  the  old  town  of  Cholula. — "  The  inhabitants  of  this  city," 
says  he,  in  his  third  letter  to  the  emperor  Charles  the  Fifth, 
"  are  better  clothed  than  any  we  have  hitherto  seen.  People  in 
easy  circumstances  wear  cloaks  (a/i5c.r7zoc<fs)  above  their  dres^; 
These  cloaks  differ  from  those  of  Africa,  for  they  have 
pockets,  though  the  cut,  cloth,  and  fringes  are  the  same. 
The  environs  of  the  city  are  very  fertile  and  well  cultivated. 
Almost  all  the  fields  may  be  watered,  and  the  city  is  much 
more  beautiful  than  all  those  in  Spain,  for  it  is  well  fortified, 
and  built  on  very  level  ground.  I  can  assure  your  highness, 
that  from  the  top  of  a  mosque,  {mozquita,  by  which  Cortez 
designates  the  teoculli^)  1  reckoned  more  than  four  hundred 
lowers  all  of  mosques.  The  number  of  the  inhabitants  is  su 
great,  that  there  is  not  an  inch  of  ground  uncultivated ;  and 
yet  in  several  places  the  Indians  experience  the  effects  of  fa- 
mine, and  there  are  many  beggars,  who  ask  alms  from  the 
rich  in  the  streets,  houses,  and  market-place,  as  is  done  by 
the  mendicants  in  Spain  and  other  civilized  countries."  {Car- 
fuz  de  C'oriez,  p.  69.)  It  is  curious  enough  to  observe,  that 
the  Spanish  general  considers  mendicity  in  the  streets  as  a 
sign  of  civilization.  He  says,  "  Gente  que  fiiden  como  hay  en 
P-n^'.aua   u  rn  otraf)  fiartc^  que  hay  geiitc  dc  razon." 


128  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        (book  m- 

^  ANALYSIS^^l  "*  /«f<?rz(/anry  of  Puehla, 

commencement  of  the  conquest  Segura 
de  la  Fr  outer  a.  (Cartas  de  Hernan  Cortez, 
p.  155.)  In  the  district  of  Tepeaca  there  is 
a  pretty  Indian  village,  now  called  Huaca- 
chula,  (the  old  Quauhquechollan,)  situated 
in  a  valley  abounding  in  fruit  trees* 

Iluajocingo^  or  Huexotzinco^  formerly 
the  chief  town  of  a  small  republic  of  the 
same  name,  at  enmity  with  the  republics 
of  Tlascalla  and  Cholula. 

Whatever  may  be  the  depopulation  of  the  inten- 
dancy  of  Puehla,  its  relative  population  is  still  four 
times  greater  than  that  of  the  kingdom  of  Sweden, 
and  nearly  equal  to  that  of  the  kingdom  of  Arragon. 

The  industry  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  province  is 
not  much  directed  to  the  working  of  gold  and  silver 
mines.  Those  of  Yxtacmaztitlan,  Temeztla,  and 
Alatlauquiteplc,  in  the  Partido  de  San  Juan  de  los 
Llanos,  of  La  Canada,  near  Tetela  de  Xonotla,  and 
of  San  Miguel  Tenango,  near  Zacatlan,  are  almost 
abandoned,  or  at  least  very  remissly  worked. 


CBAP.  vni.]     KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN. 


129 


STATISTICAL 
ANALYSIS. 

Population 
in 

1803. 

Extent          No-  o*" 
ofSur-           liihabi- 
face  in            "•"" 
square            ^^  »''•-' 
Leagues.         s'l"*''^' 
"              League. 

III.  Intcndan':y  of 
Guanaxuato. 

517,300 

911 

586 

This  province,  wholly  situated  on  the  ridge  of  the 
Cordillera  of  Anahuac,  is  the  most  populous  in  New 
Spain.  The  population  is  also  more  equally  distri- 
buted here  than  in  any  of  the  other  provinces.  Its 
length,  from  the  lake  of  Chiipalato  the  north-east  of 
San  Felipe,  is  52  leagues,  and  its  breadth,  from  the 
Villa  de  Leon  to  Celaya,  3 1  leagues.  Its  territorial 
extent  is  nearly  the  same  as  that  of  the  kingdom  of 
Murcia;  and  in  relative  population  it  exceeds  the 
kingdom  of  the  Asturias.  Its  relative  population  is 
even  greater  than  that  of  the  departments  of  the 
Hautes-Alpes,  Basses-Alpes,  Pyrenees  Oriaitales, 
and  the  Landes.  The  most  elevated  point  of  this 
moimtainous  country  seems  to  be  the  mountain  de  los 
Llanitos  in  the  Sierra  de  Santa  Rosa.  I  found  its 
height  above  the  level  of  the  sea  2,815  metres.* 

The  cultivation  of  this  fine  province,  part  of  the, 
old  kingdom  of  Mechoacan,  is  almost  wholly  to  be 
ascribed  to  the  Europeans,  who  arrived  there  in  the 
16th  century,  and  introduced  the  first  germ  of  civili- 
zation. It  was  in  these  northern  regions,  on  the 
banks  of  the  Rio  de  Lerma,  formerly  called  Tololot- 
lan,  that  the  engagements  took  place  between  the 
tribes  of  hunters  and  shepherds,  called  in  the  histo- 
rians by  the  vague  denominations  of  Chichimecs,  who 
belonged  to  the  tribes  of  the  Fames,  Capuces,  Sa- 


VOL.    II. 


*  9,235  feet.     Trans. 
R 


J30  POLITICAL  ESSAY  GN  THE        [book  u.lf 

^^aiSlyIis'.^I  ^^^-  Intendancy  of  Guamxuata. 

iiiues,  Mayolias,  Guamanes,  and  Guachichiles 
Indians.  In  proportion  as  the  country  was  aban- 
doned by  these  wandering  and  warlike  nations,  the 
Spanish  conquerors  transplanted  to  it  colonies  of 
Mexican  or  Aztec  Indians.  For  a  long  time  agri- 
culture made  more  considerable  progress  than  mi- 
ning. The  mines,  which  were  of  small  celebrity  at 
the  beginning  of  the  conquest,  were  almost  wholly 
abandoned  during  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth 
centuries  ;  and  it  is  not  more  than  thirty  or  forty  years 
since  they  became  richer  than  the  mines  of  Pachuca, 
Zacatecas,  and  Bolanos.  Their  metallic  produce, 
as  we  shall  hereafter  explain,  is  now  greater  than  the 
produce  of  Potosi  or  any  other  mine  in  the  two  con- 
tinents ever  was. 

There  are  in  the  intendancy  of  Guanaxuato  3 
ciudades,  (viz.  Guanaxuato,  Celayo,  and  Salvatierra;) 
4  villas,  (viz.  San  Miguel  el  Grande,  Leon,  San  Fe- 
lipe and  Salamanca  ;)  37  villages  or  pueblos  ;  33  pa- 
rishes, {paroquias  ;)  448  farms  or  haciendas  ;  225  in- 
dividuals of  the  secular  clergy,  170  monks  and  30 
nuns  ;  and  in  a  population  of  more  tlian  180,000  In- 
dians, 52,000  subject  to  tribute. 

The  most  remarkable  towns  of  this  intendancy  are 
the  following : 

Population. 

Guanaxuato.,  or  Santa  Fe  de  Gonnajoato. 
The  building  of  this  city  was  begun  by 
the  Spaniards  in  1534.  It  received  the  royal 
privilege  of  villa  in  1619  ;  and  that  of  ciu- 
dJao?  the  8th  December,  1741.  Its  present 
population  is  : 

Within  the  city  {en  elcasco  de  la  ciudad)        41,009 
In  the  mines  surrounding  the  city,   of 
which  the  buildings  are  contiguous,  at  Mar- 


CMAP.  vnr,]         KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  131 

^^ALyS^.^]III-  Intendancy  of  Guanaxuato. 

FopuIatioD. 

fil,  Santa  Ana,   Santa   Rosa,   Valenciana, 

Rayas,  and  Mellado  29,600 

70,600 

Among  whom  there  are  4,fi00  Indians.  Height 
of  the  city  at  the  Plaza  Mayor  2,084  metres.*  Height 
of  Valenciana  at  the  mouth  of  the  new  pit  {tiro 
imevo)  2,313  metres.f  Height  of  Rayas  at  the 
mouth  of  the  gallery  2,157  metres. | 

Salamanca^  a  pretty  little  town,  situated  in  a  plain 
which  rises  insensibly  by  Temascatio,  Burras,  and 
Cuevas,  towards  Guanaxuato.  Height  1,757  me- 
tres.^ 

Celaya,  Sumptuous  edifices  have  recently  been 
constructed  at  Celaya,  Queretaro,  and  Guanaxuato. 
The  church  of  the  Carmelites  at  Celaya  has  a  fine 
appearance.  It  is  adorned  with  Corinthian  and  Ionic 
columns.     Height  1,835  metres.  || 

Villa  de  Leon,  in  a  plain  eminently  fertile  in  grain. 
From  this  town  to  San  Juan  del  Rio  are  to  be  seen 
the  finest  fields  of  wheat,  barley,  and  maize. 

San  Miguel  el  Grande,  celebrated  for  the  industry 
of  its  inhabitants,  who  manufacture  cotton  cloth. 

The  hot  wells  of  San  Jose  de  Comangillas  are  m 
this  province.  They  issue  from  a  basaltic  opening. 
The  temperature  of  the  water,  according  to  experi- 
ments made  jointly  by  myself  and  M.  Roxas,  is 
96°,  3  of  the  centigrade  thermometer.** 

*  6,836  feet.     Trans.  t  7,586  feet.     Trans. 

%  7,075  feet.     Trans.  §  5,762  feet.      Tra7is. 

II  6,018  feet,     Trana.         «»  205o,  3  of  Fahrenheit.     Trane- 


132 


POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE 


Lbook  lit. 


STATISTICAL 
ANALYSIS, 

Population 
in 
1803. 

Extent 
of  Sur- 
face in 
square 
Leagues. 

No.  of 
Inhabi- 
tants 
to  the 
square 
Leagu  e. 

IV.  Intendancy  of 
Valladolid. 

376,400 

3,446 

109 

This  intendancy  at  the  period  of  the  Spanish  con- 
quest made  a  part  of  the  kingdom  of  Michuacan, 
(Mechoacan,)  which  extended  from  the  Rio  de  Za- 
catula  to  the  port  de  la  Navidad,  and  from  the  moun- 
tains of  Xala  and  Colima  to  the  river  of  Lerma,  and 
the  lake  of  Chapala.  The  capital  of  this  kingdom 
of  Michuacan  which,  like  the  republics  of  Tlaxcalla, 
Huexocingo  and  Cholollan,  was  always  independent 
of  the  Mexican  empire,  was  Tzintzontzan,  a  town 
situated  on  the  banks  of  a  lake  infinitely  picturesque, 
called  the  lake  of  Patzquaro.  Tzintzontzan,  which 
the  Aztec  inhabitants  of  Tenochtidan  called  Huit- 
zitzila,  is  now  only  a  poor  Indian  village,  though  it 
still  preserves  the  pompous  title  of  city,  (ciudacl.) 

The  intendancy  of  Valladolid,  vulgarly  called  in 
the  country  Michuacan,  is  bounded  on  the  north  by 
the  Rio  de  Lerma,  which  farther  east  takes  the  name 
of  Rio  Grande  de  Santiago.  On  the  cast  and  north- 
cast  it  joins  the  intendancy  of  Mexico  ;  on  the  north 
the  intendancy  of  Guanaxuato ;  and  on  the  west  that 
of  Guadalaxara.  The  greatest  length  of  the  province 
of  Valladolid  from  the  port  of  Zacatula  to  the  ba- 
saltic mountains  of  Palangeo,  in  a  direction  from  S. 
S.  E.  to  N.  N.  E.  is  78  leagues.  It  is  washed  by 
the  South  Sea  for  an  extent  of  coast  of  more  than 
38  leagues. 

Situated  on  the  western  declivity  of  the  Cordillera 
of  AnahuL'c,  intersected  with  hills  and  charming  val- 
leys, which  exhibit  to  the  eye  of  the  traveller  a  very 


CKAP.  VIII.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  133 

^WalyS^^]  ^V.  Intcnclancij  of  Valladolid. 

uncommon  appearance  under  the  torrid  zone,  that 
of  extensive  and  well  watered  meadows,  the  pro- 
vince of  Valladolid  in  general  enjoys  a  mild  and 
temperate  climate,  exceedingly  conducive  to  the 
health  of  the  inhabitants.  It  is  only  when  we  de- 
scend the  table -land  of  Ario  and  approach  the  coast 
that  we  find  a  climate  in  which  the  new  colonists,  and 
frequently  even  the  indigenous,  are  subject  to  the 
scourge  of  intermittent  and  putrid  fevers. 

The  most  elevated  summit  of  the  intendancy  of 
Valladolid  is  the  Pic  de  Taiicitaro^  to  the  east  of 
Tuspan.  I  never  could  see  it  near  enough  to  take  an 
exact  measurement  of  it ;  but  there  is  no  doubt  that 
it  is  higher  than  the  Volcan  de  Colima,  and  that  it  is 
more  frequently  covered  with  snow.  To  the  east  of 
the  Pic  de  Tancitaro  the  Folcan  de  Jorullo  (Xorullo 
or  Juruyo)  was  formed  in  the  night  of  the  29th  Sep- 
tember, 1759,  of  which  we  have  already  spoken.* 
M.  Bonpland  and  myself  reached  its  crater  on  the 
19th  September,  1803.  The  great  catastrophe  in 
which  this  mountain  rose  from  the  earth,  and  by 
which  a  considerable  extent  of  ground  totally  chan- 
ged its  appearance,  is,  perhaps,  one  of  the  most  ex- 
traordinary physical  revolutions  in  the  annals  of  the 
history  of  our  planet.  {•  Geology  points  out  the  parts  of 

*  Chap.  iii.  and  Geografihie  des  Planies,  page  130.  The 
heights  now  indicated  by  me  are  founded  on  the  barometrical 
formula  of  M.  Laplace.  They  are  the  result  of  the  latest 
operation  of  M.  Oltmanns  ;  and  sometimes  differ  20  or  30  me- 
tres from  what  is  assigned  in  the  Geografihie  det  Planless 
composed  shortly  after  my  return  to  Europe,  when  it  was  im- 
possible to  give  to  such  a  great  number  of  calculations  all  the 
precision  of  which  they  are  susceptible.  (See  Note  written 
in  the  month  of  NivOse,  year  1 3,  at  the  end  of  the  Geography 
of  Plants,  p.  147.) 

t  Strabo  relates,  {ed.  Aim.  torn.  i.  p.  102,)  that  in  the  plains 


134  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  hi. 

TATISTICA 

ANALYSIS. 


STATISTICAL^  jy^  jntefidancy  of  Falladolid. 


the  ocean,  where,  at  recent  epoquas  within  the  last  two 
thousand  years,  near  the  Azores,  in  the  Egean  sea, 
and  to  the  south  of  Iceland,  small  volcanic  islands  have 
risen  above  the  surface  of  the  water  ;  but  it  gives  us  no 
example  of  the  formation,  from  the  centre  of  a  thou* 
sand  small  burning  cones,  of  a  mountain  of  scoria 
and  ashes  517  metres*  in  height,  comparing  it  only 
with  the  level  of  the  old  adjoining  plains  in  the  inte- 
rior of  a  continent  36  leagues  distance  from  the 
coast,  and  more  than  42  leagues  from  every  other  ac- 
tive volcano.  This  remarkable  phenomenon  was  sung 
in  hexameter  verses  by  the  Jesuit  Father  Raphael 
Landivar,  a  native  of  Guatimala.  It  is  mentioned 
by  the  Abbe  Clavigero  in  the  ancient  history  of  his 
country  ;t  and  yet  it  has  remained  unknown  to  the 
mineralogists  and  naturalists  of  Europe,  though  it 
took  place  not  more  than  fifty  years  ago,  and  within 
six  days'  journey  of  the  capital  of  Mexico,  descend- 
ing from  the  central  table-land  towards  the  shores  of 
the  South  Sea. 

A  vast  plain  extends  from  the  hills  of  Aguasarco 
to  near  the  villages  of  Teipa  and  Petatlan,  both 
equally  celebrated  for  their  fine  plantations  of  cotton. 
This  plain,   between  the  Picachos  del  Mortero^  the 

in  the  neighbourhood  of  Methone,  on  the  banks  of  the  Gulf 
of  Hermione,  a  volcanic  explosion  produced  a  mountain  of 
scoria,  (a  monte  novo,)  to  which  he  attributes  the  enormous 
height  of  seven  stadia ;  which,  on  the  supposition  of  the 
Olympic  stadia,  (Voyage  de  JVeargue,  fiar  M.  Vincent^  p.  56.) 
"vvouid  be  1,249  metres!  (4,096  feet  English.)  However  ex- 
aggerated this  assertion  may  be,  the  geological  fact  undoubt- 
edly merits  the  attention  of  travellers. 

*  1,695  feet.      Trans, 

I  Storia    antica  de  Mesaico,  vol.    i,   p.  42.    aJid   Rustieano 
Mexicana,  (the  poem  of  Father  Landivar,  of  which    the   se- 
cond edition  appeared  at  Bologna  in  1782.)  p.  17. 
5 


CHAP,  vih]        kingdom  of  new  SPAIN.  235 

^YnaL™S^^1^^-  intendancij  of  Valladolid. 

Cerros  de  las  Cuevas^  y  de  Cuiche,  is  only  from  750 
to  bOO  metres*  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  In  the 
middle  of  a  tract  of  ground  in  which  porphyry  with 
a  b.ise  of  griinstein  predominates,  basaltic  cones  ap- 
pear, the  summits  of  which  are  crowned  with  ever- 
green oaks  of  a  laurel  and  olive  foliage,  intermingled 
with  small  palm  trees  with  flabelliform  leaves. 
This  beautiful  vegetation  forms  a  singular  contrast 
with  the  aridity  of  the  plai^i,  which  was  laid  waste  by 
volcanic  fire. 

Till  the  middle  of  tlie  18th  century,  fields  cultiva- 
ted with  sugar  cane  and  indigo  occupied  the  extent  of 
ground  between  the  two  brooks  called  Cuitamba  and 
San  Pedro.  They  were  bounded  by  basaltic  moun- 
tains, of  which  the  structure  seems  to  indicate  that 
all  this  country  at  a  very  remote  period  had  been  al- 
ready several  tinies  convulsed  by  volcanoes.  These 
fields,  watered  by  artificial  means,  belonged  to  the 
plantation  {hacienda)  of  San  Pedro  de  Jorullo,  one  of 
the  greatest  and  richest  of  the  country.  In  the 
month  of  June,  1759,  a  subterraneous  noise  was 
heard.  Hollow  noises  of  a  most  alarming  nature 
{bramidos)  were  accompanied  by  frequent  earth- 
quakes, which  succeeded  one  another  for  from  50  to 
60  days,  to  the  gieat  consternation  of  the  mhabitants 
of  the  hacienda.  From  the  beginning  of  September 
every  tiling  seemed  to  announce  the  complete  re- 
cstablishment  of  tranquillity,  when  in  the  night  be- 
tween the  28th  and  29th,  the  horrible  subterraneous 
noise  recommenced.  The  affrighted  Indians  fled 
to  the  mountains  of  Aguasarco.  A  tract  of  ground 
from  three  to  four  square  miles   in  extcnt,t  which 

*  From  2,460  to  2,624  feet.     Trans. 

tThe  French  mile  is,  it  is  believed,  nearly  as  2.887  to  I, 
almost  thrice  the  length  of  an  English  mile  ;  but  it  is  uncer- 
tain what  mile  the  author  uses  here.     Trans. 


136  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  lUr 

^  aiSl™S^^1  IV.  Intendancy  of  Falladolid. 

goes  by  the  name  of  Malpays,  rose  up  in  the  shape 
of  a  bladder.  The  bounds  of  this  convulsion  are 
still  distinguishable  in  the  fractured  strata.  The 
Malpays  near  its  edges  is  only  12  meires*  above  the 
old  level  of  the  plain  called  the  play  as  de  Jorullo  ; 
but  the  convexity  of  the  ground  thus  thrown  up  in- 
creases progressively  towards  the  centre  to  an  eleva- 
tion of  160  metres,  t 

Those  who  witnessed  this  great  catastrophe  from 
the  top  of  Aguasarco,  assert  that  flames  were  seen  to 
issue  forth  for  an  extent  of  more  than  half  a  square 
league,  that  fragments  of  burning  rocks  were  thrown 
up  to  prodigious  heights,  and  that  through  a  thick 
cloud  of  ashes,  illumined  by  the  volcanic  fire,  the 
softened  surface  of  the  earth  was  seen  to  swell  up 
like  an  agitated  sea.  The  rivers  of  Cuitamba  and 
San  Pedro  precipitated  themselves  into  the  burning 
chasms.  The  decomposition  of  the  water  contri- 
buted to  invigorate  the  flames,  which  were  distin- 
guishable at  the  city  of  Pascuaro,  though  situated  on 
•a  very  extensive  table-land  1,400  metresj  elevated 
above  the  plains  of  las  playas  de  Jorullo.  Eruptions 
of  mud,  and  especially  of  strata  of  clay  enveloping 
balls  of  decomposed  basaltes  in  concentrical  layers, 
appear  to  indicate  that  subterraneous  water  had  no 
small  share  in  producing  this  extraordinary  revolu- 
tion. Thousands  of  small  cones,  from  two  xo  three 
metres^  in  height,  called  by  the  indigenes  ovenSy 
(Jiornitos^)  issued  forth  from  the  Malpays,  Although 
within  the  last  fifteen  years,  according  to  the  testi- 
mony of  the   Indians,    the  heat  of   these   volcanic 

*  39  feet.     Trans.  f  524  feet.     Tram. 

t  4,592  feet.      Trans. 

§  From  6,5  feci  to  9.8  feet.     Trann. 


CIAP.  VIII.]  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  ^37 

^\17alys^S^^1  ^V.  Intendancy  of  ValladoM, 

ovens  has  suffered  a  great  diminution,  I  have  seen 
the  thermometer  rise  to  95^'*  on  being  plunged  into 
fissures  which  exhale  an  aqueous  vapour.  Kach 
small  cone  is  a  fumorola^  from  which  a  thick  va- 
pour ascends  to  the  height  of  ten  or  fifteen  metres. 
In  many  of  them  a  subterraneous  noise  is  heard, 
which  appears  to  announce  the  proximity  of  a  fluid 
in  ebullition. 

In  the  midst  of  the  ovens  six  large  masses  elevated 
from  4  to  500  metresf  each  above  the  old  level  of 
the  plains,  sprung  up  from  a  chasm,  of  which  the 
direction  is  from  the  N.N.E.  to  the  S.S.E.  This  is 
the  phenomenon  of  the  Monte  Novo  of  Naples,  several 
times  repeated  in  a  range  of  volcanic  hills.  The  most 
elevated  of  these  enormous  masses,  which  bears  some 
resemblance  to  the  puy&  de  I'Auvergne,  is  the  great 
Volcan  de  Jorullo.  It  is  continually  burning,  and 
has  thrown  up  from  the  north  side  an  immense  quan- 
tity of  scorified  and  basaltic  lavas  containing  frag- 
ments of  primitive  rocks.  These  great  eruptions  of 
the  central  volcano  continued  till  the  month  of  Fe- 
bruaiy,  1760.  In  the  following  years  they  became 
gradually  less  frequent.  The  Indians,  frightened  at 
the  horrible  noises  of  the  new  volcano,  abandoned  at 
first  all  the  villages  situated  within  seven  or  eight 
Icaguesdistanceof  the  playas  de  Jorullo.  They  became 
gradually,  however,  accustomed  to  this  terrific  specta- 
cle ;  and  having  returned  to  their  cottages,  they  ad- 
vanced towards  the  mountains  of  Aguasarco  and  Santa 
Ines,  to  admire  the  streams  of  fire  discharged  from 
an  infinity  of  great  and  small  volcanic  apertures.  The 
roofs  of  the  houses  of  Qucretaro  were  then  covered 

*  2020  of  Fahrenheit.     Trans. 
fFrom  1,312  to  1,640  feet.     7Va?;.?. 
VOL.    II.  S 


138'  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  ni. 

^^ALYS^a^]!"^-  Intendancy  of  ValladoM. 

with  ashes  at  a  distance  of  more  than  48  leagues  in  a 
straight  hne  from  the  scene  of  the  explosion.  Al- 
though the  subterraneous  fire  now  appears  far  from 
violent,*  and  the  Malpays  and  the  great  volcano  begin 
to  be  covered  with  vegetables,  we  nevertheless 
found  the  ambient  air  heated  to  such  a  degree  by  the 
actions  of  the  small  ovens,  ijiornitos,)  that  the  ther- 
mometer, at  a  great  distance  from  the  surface,  and  in 
the  shade,  rose  as  high  as  43".t  This  fact  appears 
to  prove,  that  there  is  no  exaggeration  in  the  accounts 
of  several  old  Indians,  who  affirm,  that  for  many 
years  after  the  first  eruption,  the  plains  of  JoruUo, 
even  at  a  great  distance  from  the  scene  of  the  explo- 
sion, were  uninhabitable,  from  the  excessive  heat 
which  prevailed  in  them. 

The  traveller  is  still  shown,  near  the  Cerro  de  Santa 


*  We  found  in  the  bottom  of  the  crater  the  air  at  47°,  and  in 
some  places  at  58  and  60o  (1 1 6°,  130o,  and  139oof  Fahrenheit.) 
We  passed  over  crevices  which  exhaled  a  sulphureous  va- 
pour, in  which  the  thermometer  rose  to  85°  (1S5<>  Fahrenheit.) 
The  passage  over  these  crevices  and  heaps  of  scoria,  which 
cover  considerable  hollows,  render  the  descent  into  the  crater 
•very  dangerous.  I  shall  reserve  the  detail  of  my  geological 
reseaixhes  relative  to  the  volcano  of  Jorullo  for  the  historical 
account  of  my  travels.  The  atlas  accompanying  that  account 
will  contain  three  plates:  1.  The  picturesque  view  of  the  new 
volcano,  which  is  three  times  higher  than  the  Monte  Novo  oi 
Puzzole,  sprung  up  in  1588,  almost  on  the  very  shore  of  the 
Mediterranean  ;  2.  The  vertical  section  of  the  Malpays ;  S. 
The  geographical  map  of  the  plains  of  Jorullo,  drawn  up  bj 
means  of  the  sextant,  employing  tlu;  method  of  perpendicular 
bases,  and  angles  of  altitude.  The  volcanic  productions  of 
this  convulsed  district  are  to  l)e  found  in  the  cabinet  of  the 
School  of  Mines  at  Berlin.  The  plants  collected  in  the  envi- 
rons are  to  be  found  in  tiie  herbals  deposited  by  mc  in  the 
r^Iuseum  of  Natural  History  at  Paris. 

t  1Q90  of  Fahrenheit.     Tram. 


CHAP,  vni]         KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  139 

^ANAL™s!^^]  I^'-  Intemlancij  of  Valladolid. 

Ines,  the  rivers  of  Cuitamba  and  San  Pedro,  of 
which  the  limpid  waters  formerly  watered  the  sugar- 
cane  plantation  of  Don  Andre  Pimentel.  These 
streams  disappeared  in  the  night  of  the  29th  Septem- 
ber, 1759;  but,  at  a  distance  of  2,000  metres*'  far- 
ther Avest,  in  the  tract  which  was  the  theatre  of  the 
convulsion,  two  rivers  are  now  seen  bursting  through 
the  argillaceous  vault  of  the  IiornitoSy  of  the  appear- 
ance of  mineral  waters,  in  which  the  thermometer 
rises  to  52r>,7.t  The  Indians  continue  to  give  them 
the  names  of  San  Pedro  and  Cuitamba,  because  in 
several  parts  of  the  Malpays  great  masses  of  water 
are  heard  to  run  in  a  direction  from  east  to  west, 
from  the  moimtains  of  Santa  Ines  towards  P Hacienda 
de  la  Prcsentacion.  Near  this  habitation  there  is  a 
brook,  which  disengages  itself  from  the  sulphureous 
hydrogen.  It  is  more  than  7  metres  in  breadth,  ancj 
is  the  most  abundant  hydro-sulphureous  spring  which 
I  have  ever  seen. 

In  the  opinion  of  the  Indians,  these  extraordinary 
transformations  which  we  have  been  describing,  the 
surface  of  the  earth  raised  up  and  burst  by  the  vol- 
canic fire,  and  the  mountains  of  scoria  and  ashes 
heaped  together,  are  the  work  of  the  monks,  the 
greatest,  no  doubt,  which  they  have  ever  produced 
in  the  two  hemispheres  !  In  the  cottage  which  we  oc- 
cupied in  the  playas  de  Joruilo,  our  Indian  host  re- 
lated  to  us,  that,  in  1759,  Capuchin  missionaries 
came  to  preach  at  the  plantation  of  San  Pedro,  and  not 
having  met  with  a  favourable  reception,  (perhaps  not 
having  got  so  good  a  dinner  as  they  expected,)  they 
poured  out  the  most  horrible  and  unheard  of  impre- 

*  6,561  fp.ft.      Travt.  +  156o. 3  of  Fahrenheit,     Trans. 


140  POLITICAL  ESBAY  ON  THE        [bookiu. 

^^ALySs^^]  I^-  Interidaiicy  of  ValladoM. 

cations  against  the  then  beautiful  and  fertile  plain, 
and  prophesied  that  in  the  first  place  the  plantation 
would  be  swallowed  up  by  flames  rising  out  of  the 
earth,  and  that  afterwards  the  ambient  air  would  cool 
to  such  a  degree,  that  the  neighbouring  mountains 
would  for  ever  remain  covered  with  snow  and  ice. 
The  former  of  these  maledictions  having  already  pro- 
duced such  fatal  effects,  the  lower  Indians  contemplate 
ill  the  increasing  coolness  of  the  volcano,  the  sinister 
presage  of  a  perpetual  winter.  I  have  thought  proper 
to  relate  this  vulgar  tradition,  worthy  of  figuring  in 
the  epic  poem  of  the  Jesuit  Landivar,  because  it  forms 
a  striking  feature  in  the  picture  of  the  manners  and 
prejudices  of  these  remote  countries.  It  proves  the 
active  industry  of  a  class  of  men  who  too  frequently 
abuse  the  credulity  of  the  people,  and  pretend  to  sus- 
pend by  their  influence  the  immutable  laws  of  na- 
ture for  the  sake  of  founding  their  empire  on  the 
fear  of  physical  evils.* 


*  The  monks  seem  to  have  acted  with  no  small  share  of  sa- 
gacity under  all  the  circumstances  in  which  they  were  placed. 
It  is  true,  no  doubt,  as  M.  de  Humboldt  observes,  that  they 
indulged  pretty  freely  in  miracles  ;  but  it  is  to  this  that  we 
are  chiefly,  perhaps,  to  ascribe  the  introduction  of  the  religion 
of  benevolence  and  humanity  among  them.  This  religion  is 
not  in  their  hands  every  thing  that  we  could  wish  ;  still,  how- 
ever, in  its  worst  modification,  it  must  partake  something  of 
the  divine  spirit  of  its  author. 

Miracles  would  Feem  to  be  necessary  to  the  foundation  and 
dissemination  of  every  religion,  however  convincing  its  evi- 
dence, especially  among  barbarous  and  half  civilized  nations. 
It  is  not  by  i-easoning  or  logical  subtlety,  that  such  a  people, 
the  great  mass  of  whom  have  neither  leisure  nor  aptitude  for 
it,  can  be  brought  to  shake  themselves  free  of  the  religious 
impressions,  of  Avhatevcr  nature,  to  which  they  have  been  ac- 
customed from  their  infancy,  and  which  are  interwoven  with 
every  feeling  and  association  of  their  nature.     The  change 


CHAP.  VIII.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  141 

^\1?!\L™s'^l  IV.  Intcndancij  of  Falladolid. 

The  position  of  the  new  VolcLin  do  Joriillo  g^es 
rise  to  a  very  curious  geological  observation.  We 
already  remarked  in  the  third  chapter,  that  in  New 
Spain  there  is  a  parallel  of  great  elevations,  or  a  nar- 
row zone  contained  bet\^'een  the   18°  59'  and  the 


""an  only,  in  general,  be  effected  by  the  operation  of  such 
means  as  arc  calculated  to  produce  astonishment  and  terror 
in  an  uncultivated  mind,  which  will  then  be  disposed  to  re- 
f-ign  itself  blindly  to  the  guidance  of  the  apparently  superna- 
tural agent.  However  obvious  this  truth  may  be,  and  how- 
ever much  confirmed  by  all  our  experience  hitherto,  those 
persons  whose  business  it  is  to  carry  on  at  present  the  disse- 
mination of  religion,  have  laid  aside,  certainly  very  impru- 
dently, the  operation  of  miracles,  a  privilege  of  which  it  ap- 
pears the  Roman  catholics  continue  to  avail  themseivus  with 
success,  and  to  the  want  of  which  our  own  bad  success  ough<: 
in  a  great  measure  to  be  ascribed.  What  reasonings,  for  in- 
stance, could  have  convinced  so  effectually  the  Betoya  nation 
that  the  sun  is  not  God  but  Jire  to  light  us,  as  the  miracle 
which,  in  confirmation  of  his  assertion,  Padre  Gumiila 
wrought  on  the  arm  of  the  chief  Tunucua,  by  means  of  a 
lens?  When  Tunucua  saw  his  arm  roasting  and  swelling  up, 
he  could  resist  the  truth  no  longer,  and  with  sorrowful  voice 
loudly  exclaimed,  "  Truly,  truly,  the  sun  is  fire  !  Es  verdad  .' 
£s  verdad  I  fiiego  es  el  Sol  I"  The  whole  passage  is  welt 
worth  transcribing,  as  it  serves  powerfully  to  illustrate  the 
r.agacity  of  the  missionaries  fathers,  and  the  observation  oi 
M.  de  Humboldt.  "  Viendo  pues  que  passaban  muchos  me- 
ses  sin  acabar  de  creer,  que  el  Sol  era  fuego,  me  vali  dc  la 
mccanica  de  un  Lente  6  Cristal  de  bastantes  grados,  y  junta 
toda  la  gente  en  la  Plaza,  cogi  la  mano  del  Capitan  mas  ca- 
paz,  Uamado  Tunucua.  Preguntclc  si  el  Sol  era  Dies  ?  Luego 
respondio  que  si.  Eutonces,  en  voz  alta,  que  oyeron  todos, 
dixe  :  Daij  diami  obay  refolajuy  I  Theoda  futuit  ajaduca,  may 
Tnafarra.  Quando  accobereis  de  crecrine  ?  Ya  os  tengo  diche^ 
que  el  Sol  no  os  sino  fuegoy  diciendo  y  haciendo,  intcrpuse  el 
lente  entre  el  Sol,  y  el  brazo  del  dicho  capitan,  y  al  punto  el 
Ijayo  Solar  le  qucmo,  y  levanto  ampolla  considerable  en  cl 
brazo:  clamo  luego  el  con  voz  amarga,  diciendo:  Es  verdad, 
Es  verdad,  fucgocsel  Sol."     Gumilla,  vol.  H.  p.  II. 


X42  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  hi. 

^Ynal™s^^1^^-  Intendancyof  ValladoM. 

19o  12'  of  latitude,  in  which  all  the  summits  of 
Anahuac,  which  rise  above  the  region  of  perpetual 
snow,  are  situated.  These  summits  are  either  vol- 
canoes which  still  continue  to  burn,  or  mountains, 
which,  from  their  form  as  well  as  the  nature  of  their 
rocks,  have  in  all  probability  formerly  contained  sub- 
terraneous fire.  As  we  recede  from  the  coast  of  the 
Atlantic,  we  find  in  a  direction  from  east  to  west  the 
Pic  d'Orizaba,  the  two  volcanoes  of  la  Puebla,  the 
Nevado  de  Toluca,  the  Pic  de  Tancitaro,  and  the 
Volcan  de  Colima.  These  great  elevations,  in  place 
of  forming  the  crest  of  the  Cordillera  of  Anahuac, 
and  following  its  direction,  which  is  from  the  south- 
east to  the  north-west,  are,  on  the  contrary,  placed 
on  a  line  perpendicular  to  the  axis  of  the  great  chain 
of  mountains.  It  is  undoubtedly  worthy  of  obser- 
vation, that  in  1759  the  new  volcano  of  Jorullo  was 
formed  in  the  prolongation  of  that  line,  on  the  same 
parallel  \\\\\\  the  ancient  Mexican  volcanoes  ! 

A  single  glance  bestowed  on  my  plan  of  the  envi- 
rons of  Jorullo,  will  prove  that  tlie  six  large  masses 
rose  out  of  the  earth,  in  a  line  which  runs  through  the 
plain  from  the  Cerro  de  las  Cuevas  to  the  Picacho  del 
Mortero ;  and  it  is  thus  also  that  the  bocche  nove  of 
Vesuvius  are  ranged  along  the  prolongation  of  a 
rhasai.  Do  not  these  analogies  entitle  us  to  suppose 
that  ther.e  exists  in  this  part  of  Mexico,  at  a  great 
depth  in  the  interior  of  the  earth,  a  chasm  in  a  direc- 
tion from  east  to  west  for  a  length  of  137  leagues, 
along  which  the  volcanic  fire,  bursting  through  the 
interior  crust  of  the  porphyritical  rocks,  has  made  its 
appearance  at  diftbrent  epoquas  from  the  gulf  of 
Mexico  to  the  South  Sea  ?  Does  this  chasm  extend  to 
the  small  group  of  islands,  called  by  M.  Collnct,  the 
archipelago  of  Revillagigedo,  around  which,  in  the 

1 


c-HAP.vin.]  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  143 

^Yn^^LYSI^]  ^V-  ^ntendancy  of  ValladoM. 

same  parallel  with  the  Mexican  volcanoes,  pumice- 
stone  has  been  seen  floating  ?  Those  naturalists  who 
make  a  distinction  between  the  facts  which  are  offer- 
ed us  by  descriptive  geology  and  theoretical  reveries 
on  the  primitive  state  of  our  planet,  will  forgive  us 
these  general  observations  on  the  general  map  of  New 
Spain.  Moreover,  from  the  lake  of  Cuiseo,  which 
is  impregnated  with  muriate  of  soda,  and  which  ex- 
hales sulphuretted  hydrogen  as  far  as  the  city  of  Valla- 
dolid,  for  an  extent  of  40  square  leagues,  there  are 
a  great  quantity  of  hot  wells,  which  generally  contain 
only  muriatic  acid,  without  any  vestiges  of  terreous 
sulfates  or  metallic  salts.  Such  are  the  mineral  wa- 
ters of  Chucandiro,  Cuinche,  San  Sebastian,  and  San 
Juan  Tararamco. 

The  extent  of  the  intendancy  of  Valladolid  is  one- 
fifth  less  than  that  of  Ireland,  but  its  relative  popula- 
tion is  twice  greater  than  that  of  Finland.  In  this 
province  there  are  three  ciudades,  (Valladolid,  Tzint- 
zontzan,  and  Pascuaro  ;)  3  villas^  (Citaquaro,  Za- 
mora,  and  Charo  ;)  263  villages  ;  205  parishes  ;  and 
326  farms.  The  imperfect  enumeration  of  1793 
gave  a  total  population  of  289,314  souls,  of  whom 
40,399  were  male  whites,  and  39,081  female  whites ; 
61,352  male  Indians,  and  58,016  female  Indians; 
and  1-54  monks,  138  nuns,  and  293  individuals  of 
the  secular  clergy. 

The  Indians  who  inhabit  the  province  of  Vallado- 
iid  form  three  races  of  different  origin,  the  Tarascs, 
celebrated  in  the  sixteenth  century  for  the  gentleness 
of  their  manners,  for  their  industry  in  the  mechani- 
cal arts,  and  for  the  harmony  of  their  language, 
abounding  in  vowels  ;  the  Otomites,  a  tribe  yet  very 
far  behind  in  civilization,  who  speak  a  language  full 
of  na-sal  and   guttural  aspirations ;  and  the  Chichi- 


i44  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  in. 

ANALYSIS.    1 1^*  Intendancy  of  Valladolid. 

mecs,  who,  like  the  Tlascahecs,  the  Nahuatlacs, 
aiid  the  Aztecs,  have  preserved  the  Mexican  lan- 
guage. All  the  south  part  of  the  intcndancy  of  Val- 
ladolid is  inhabited  by  Indians.  In  the  villages,  the 
only  white  figure  to  be  met  with  is  the  ciwe^  and  he 
also  is  frequently  an  Indian  or  Mulatto.  The  bene- 
fices  are  so  poor  there,  that  the  bishop  of  Mechoacan 
has  the  greatest  difficulty  in  procuring  ecclesiastics  to 
settle  in  a  country  where  Spanisli  is  almost  never 
spoken,  and  where  along  the  coast  of  the  Great  Ocean, 
the  priests,  infected  by  the  contagious  miasmata  of 
malignant  fevers,  frequently  die  before  the  expira- 
tion of  seven  or  eight  months. 

The  population  of  the  intendancy  of  Valladolid 
decreased  in  the  years  of  scarcity  of  1786  and  1790 ; 
and  it  would  have  suifered  still  more  if  the  respecta- 
ble bishop,  of  whom  we  spoke  in  the  sixth  chapter, 
had  not  made  extraordinary  sacrifices  for  the  relief  of 
the  Indians.  He  voluntarily  lost  in  a  few  months,  the 
sum  of  230,000  francs*  by  purchasing  50,000  fanega^s 
of  maize,  which  lie  sold  at  a  reduced  price  to  keep 
the  sordid  avarice  of  several  rich  proprietors  within 
bounds,  who,  during  that  epoqua  of  public  calami- 
ties, endeavoured  to  take  advantage  of  the  misery  of 
the  people. 

The  most  remarkable  places  of  the  province  of 
A'^alladolid  are  the  following  : 

PopuJatiojA 

Valladolid  de  Mechoacan^  the  capital  of 
the  intendancy,  and  seat  of  a  bishop,  which 
enjoys  a  delicious  climate.     Its  elevation 

*  9,5847.  sterling.     Trans. 


CHA*.  vJii]         KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  145 

^  AN^YS?S^*^]  ^^'  i^^*^dancy  of  ValladoM, 

fopulatwn. 

above  the  level  of  the  sea,  is  1,950  metres  ;* 
and  yet  at  this  moderate  height,  and  under 
the  19"  42'  oikititude,  snow  has  been  seen 
to  fall  in  the  streets  of  Valladolid.  This 
sudden  change  of  atmosphere,!  caused,  no 
doubt,  by  a  north  wind,  is  much  more  re- 
markable than  the  snow  which  fell  in  the 
streets  of  Mexico  the  night  before  the  Je- 
suit fathers  were  carried  oft  !  The  new  aque- 
duct by  which  the  town  receives  potable 
water,  was  constructed  at  -  the  expense  of 
the  last  bishop,  Fray  Antonio  de  San  Mi- 
guel, and  cost  him  nearly  half  a  million  of 
francs.J  18,000 

Pascuaro^  on  the  banks  of  the  pictu- 
resque lake  of  the  same  name,  opjX)site  to 
the  Indian  village  of  Janicho,  situated  at 
something  less  than  a  league's  distance,  on 
a  charming  little  island  in  the  midst  of  the 
lake.  Pascuaro  contains  the  ashes  of  a 
very  remarkable  man,  whose  memory, 
after  a  lapse  of  two  centuries  and  a  half,  is 
still  venerated  by  the  Indians,  the  famous 
Vasco  de  Quiroga,  first  bishop  of  Mecho- 
acan,  who  died  in  1556  at  the  village  of 
Uruapa.  Thiszealousprelate,  whomthe indi- 
genous still  call  their  father,  {Tata  don  Vas- 
co^ was  more  successful  in  his  endeavours 
to  protect  the  unfortunate  inhabitants  of 
Mexico  than  the  virtuous  bishop  of  Chiapa, 

*   6.396  feet.      Trans. 

t  See  my  Geografifns  dcs  Plantes,  p.  1  ^l 

\  20,835/.      Trans. 
VOL.  II.  T 


i4.(j  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  in. 

^^NAL™s^]  IV.  Intendancy  of  Valladolid. 

Population . 

Barlholonie  cle  las  Casas.  Quiroga  became 
in  an  especial  manner  the  benefactor  of  the 
Tarasc  Indians,  whose  industry  he  encou- 
raged. He  prescribed  one  particular 
branch  of  commerce  to  each  Indian  vil- 
lage. These  useful  institutions  are'  in  a 
great  measure  preserved  to  this  day.  The 
height  of  Pascuaro  is  2,200  metres.*'  6,000 

Tzintzontzan^  or  Huitzitzilla,  the  old  ca- 
pital of  the  kingdom  of  Mechoacan,  of 
which  we  have  already  spoken.  2,500 

The  intendancy  of  Valladolid  contains  the  mines 
of  Zitaquaro,  Angangueo,  Tlapuxahua,  the  Real  del        ^i 
Oroj  andYnguaran.  ■§ 

*  7,2 17  feet.      7>avs.. 


CHAP.vMi.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN. 


147 


STATISTICAL 

ANALYSIS. 

Population 

in 

1803. 

F.xtunt  of 

Surface  in 

square 

Lfitgucs. 

No.  of  Inhnbit-! 

ants  to  (he    i 

siiiiare  League.; 

1 

V.  Intendancy  of 
Guadalaxara. 

630,500         9,612 

66 

This  province,  part  of  the  kingdom  of  Nueva  Ga- 
licia,  is  almost  twice  the  extent  of  Portugal,  with  a 
population  five  time^  smaller.  It  is  bounded  on  the 
north  by  the  intendancies  of  Sonora  and  Durango, 
on  the  east  by  the  intendancies  of  Zacatecas  and 
Guanaxuato,  on  the  south  by  the  jirovince  of  Valla- 
dolid,  and  on  the  west,  for  a  length  of  coast  of  123 
leagues,  by  the  Pacific  Ocean.  Its  greatest  breadth 
is  100  leagues,  from  the  port  of  San  Bias  to  the  town 
of  Lagos,  and  its  greatest  length  is  from  south  to 
.north  from  the  Volcan  de  Colima  to  San  Andres 
Tule  118  leagues. 

The  intendancy  of  Guadalaxara  is  crossed  irom 
east  to  west  by  the  Rio  de  Santiago,  a  considerable 
river  which  communicates  with  the  lake  of  Chapala, 
and  which  one  day  (when  civilization  shall  have  aug- 
mented in  these  countries)  will  become  interesting 
for  interior  navigation  from  Salamanca  and  Zelaya  to 
the  port  of  San  Bias. 

All  the  eastern  part  of  this  province  is  the  table- 
land and  western  declivity  of  the  Cordilleras  of  Ana- 
huac.  The  maritime  regions,  csi^ecially  those  m  Inch 
stretch  towards  the  great  bay  of  Bayonne,  are  cover- 
ed  with  forests,  and  abound  in  superb  wood  for  shiji 
building.  But  the  inliabitants  are*  exposed  to  an  un- 
healthy ajid  excessively  headed  tiir.     The  interior  of 


X48  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [hqok  iti 

^T(nal™s^^]  V.  Intendanci^  of  Guadakxma. 

the  countiy  enjoys  a  temperate  climate,  favourable  to 
health. 

The  Volcan  de  Colima,  of  which  the  position  has 
never  )  et  been  determined  by  astronomical  observa- 
tions, is  the  most  western  of  the  volcanoes  of  New 
Spain,  which  are  placed  on  the  same  line  in  the  di- 
rection of  one  parallel.  It  frequently  throws  up 
ashes  and  smoke.  An  enlightened  ecclesiastic,  who 
long  before  my  arrival  at  Mexico  had  made  several 
very  exact  barometrical  measurements,  Doi  Ma- 
nuel Abad,  great  vicar  of  the  bishopric  of  Mechoa- 
can,  estimated  the  elevation  of  the  Volcan  de  Coli- 
ma above  the  level  of  the  sea  at  2,800  metres.*  "  This 
insulated  mountain,"  observes  M.  Abad,  "  appears 
only  of  a  moderate  height  when  its  summit  is  com- 
pared with  the  ground  of  Zapotilti  and  Zapotlan,  two 
villages  of  2,000  varast  of  elevation  above  the  level 
of  the  coast.  It  is  from  the  small  town  of  Colima 
that  the  volcano  appears  in  all  its  gi'andeur.  It  is 
never  covered  with  snow,  but  when  it  falls  in  the 
chain  of  the  neighbouring  mountains  from  the  effects 
of  the  north  wind.  On  the  8th  December,  1788, 
the  volcano  was  covered  with  snow  for  almost  two 
thirds  of  its  height  ;J  but  this  snow  only  remained 
for  two  months  on  the  northern  declivity  of  the 
mountain  towards  Zapotlan.  In  the  beginning  of 
1791,  I  iMade  the  tour  of  the  volcano  by  Sayula, 

*  9,185  feet.      Trans.  t  5,505  fjct.      'Irajif:. 

^  Let  us  suppose  that  the  snow  only  covered  the  volcano 
for  the  half  of  its  height.  Now  snow  sometimes  falls  in  the 
western  part  of  New  Spain  under  the  latitude  of  18»and  2t)n, 
at  1,600  inctres  of  elevation,  (5,24.8  feet.)  These  mcteorolo- 
5^'Cdl  considerations  would  induce  us  to  assign  nearly  3,200 
inetics,  (10,496  feet.)  for  t'lic  heitjht  ef  the  \'o]ciin  de  Co- 
lima. 


HAP.viji.j         KlNODmVl  Of  MAN    ^t'AlN  1-19 

;TATisric.' 

ANALYSIS. 


j  V  .  liittnulanry  oj  Ljuaamaxara. 


Tuspan,  and   Coliina,  uilhout  seeing    ihc   smallest 
trace  ot  bnow  on  its  suimuitb." 

According  to  a  ni.tnii.-:>c! ipt  memoir  communicUv.  d 
to  the  tribunal  of  the  Consul  do  of  Vera  Cruz,  by 
the  intcndant  ot"  Guadalaxara,  the  vahie  ci"  the  ;'.gri- 
cviltural  j)roduce  ot"  tliis  intcndrcncy  amounted,  in 
1802,  to  2,599,000  piastres,*  (nearly  13  millions  of 
francs,)  in  which  there  were  computed  1,657,000 
fancgas  of  maize,  45,000  cargas  of  \\h.cat,  17,000 
tercios  of  cotton,  (at  5  piastres  the  tercio,)  and  20,000 
pounds  of  cochineal  of  Autlan,  (at  3  irancs  the 
pound.)  The  \'alue  of  the  manufacturing  industry 
was  estimated  at  3,302,200  piastres,!  or -16  millions 
and  a  half  of  francs. 

The  province  of  Guadalaxara  contains  2  ciiidades, 
6  villas,  and  322  villages.  The  most  celebrated 
mines  are  those  of  Bolanos,  Asientos  de  Ibarra,  Hos- 
tiotipaquillo,  Copala,  and  Guichichila  near  Tepir. 

The  most  remarkable  towns  are  : 
Guadalaxara^  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Rio 
de  Santiago,  the  residence  of  the  intendant, 
of  the  bishop,  and  the  high  court  of  justice, 
(Audiencia.)     Population  19,500 

San  Blas^  a  port,  the  residence  of  the  Departimi- 
ento  de  Marina^  at  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  de  Santiago. 
The  otftcial  people  {ojficiales  reales)  remain  at  Te- 
pic,  a  small  tow'n,  of  which  the  climate  is  not  so  liot 
and  is  more  salubrious.  Within  these  ten  years  the 
question  has  been  discussed  if  it  would  be  useful  to 
transfer  the  dock-yards,  magazines,  and  the  whole 
marine  department  from  San  Bias    to    Acapulco. 

*  =   13,644,750  francs  =  568,531/.  sterling.   -Trans. 
+  —  ir,S36,5  50  francs  1=  722.351/.  sterliiv^.      Trans. 


150  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THfc  [book  iix. 

STATISTICAL?,^     r,       j  rn       Jl 

ANALYSIS     S     '  ^^^-*^''-^'^'^f'y  of  ijuaaalaxara. 

This  last  port  wants  uood  for  ship  building.  The 
air  there  is  aho  equally  unlieilthy  as  at  San  Bias,  but 
the  pi  qjected  cli'-\n:.^e,  by  flivoiiring  the  concentration 
of  the  naval  force,  would  give  the  government  a 
greater  facility  Sn  knowing  tlie  wants  of  the  marine 
and  the  means  of  supplying  them. 

Compostella,  to  the  soutli  of  Tepic.  To  the  north- 
Vi'cst  of  CompostcHa,  as  well  as  in  the  partidos  of 
Aiitlm,  Ahuxcatlaa,  and  Acaponeta,  a  tobacco  of  a 
superior  quality  was  formerly  cultivated. 

^^giias  Caliejites,  a  small  well-peopled  town  to  the 
south  of  the  mines  de  los  Asientos  de  Ibarra. 

Villa  de  la  Punficacion,  to  the  north-west  of  the 
port  of  Gnallan,  iormerly  called  Santiago  de  Buena 
Ksperanza,  celebrated  from  the  voyage  of  discovery, 
made  in  532,  by  Diego  Hurtado  de  Mendoza. 

iMgos,  to  the  north  of  the  town  of  Leon,  on  a 
plain  fertiie  m  vvheat  on  the  frontiers  of  the  inten- 
(lancy  of  Guanaxuato. 

Colima,  i\\v>  leagues  south  from  the  Volcan  de 
Colima. 


CMAP.  VIII.]         KINGDOM  OF  NFAV  SPAIN, 


151 


STATISTICAL 
ANALYSIS. 


VL    Intendancy  of 

Zucatecus. 


Population 

in 

1303. 


!5:>,30O 


Kxi.-iit  of 
Siiiliicc  ill 

Ml'inri- 
Luai^iics. 


No.  (ifliilinbil 

Hilts  to  llie 
s<|Uuru  LcagUi-.'f 


65 


This  sing^ularly  ill-peopled  province  is  a  moun 
tainoiisand  arid  tract,  exposed  to  a  continual  incle 
mency  of  climate.  It  is  bounded  on  the  north  by 
the  intendancy  of  Durango,  on  the  cast  by  the  inten- 
dancy of  San  Luis  Potosi,  on  the  south  by  the  pro- 
vince of  Guanaxuato,  and  oi>  the  west  by  that  ot 
Guadalaxara.  Its  greatest  length  is  85  leagues,  and 
its  greatest  breadth  from  Sombrerete  to  the  Real  dt 
Ramos,  5 1  leagues. 

The  intendancy  of  Zacatecas  is  nearly  of  the  same 
extent  with  Switzerland,  which  it  resembles  in  many 
geological  points  of  view.  The  relative  population 
is  hardly  equal  to  that  of  Sweden. 

The  table-land,  which  forms  the  centre  of  the  in- 
tendancy of  Zacatecas,  and  which  rises  to  more  than 
2,000  metres*  in  height,  is  formed  of  Sienites,  a 
rock  on  which  repose,  according  to  the  excellent  ob- 
servations of  M.  Valcnc'ui^\  strata  of  primitive  schis- 
tus  and  schistous  chlorites,  [chlorith  schiefer.)  The 
schistus  forms  the  base  of  the  mountains  of  gran- 
wacke  and  trappish  porphyry.     North  of  the  town  ol 

*  6,561  feet.      Trans. 

t  Don  Vicente  Valencia,    pupil   of  M.  del   Rio,  and   of  Ihc 
School  of  Mines  of  Mexico,  has  written  a  very  interesting  do 
scription  of  the  mines  of  Zacatecas,  (Gazeta  dc  Mexico,  toui. 
XI.  p.  417.^ 


J 52  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  Ibook  ii:. 

^  AN ALYsfs^^l  ^^'  Intcndajicij  of  Zacatecas. 

Zacatecas  are  nine  small  lakes  abounding  in  muriate, 
and  especially  carbonate  of  soda.  *  This  carbonate, 
which,  from  the  old  Mexican  word  tequixquiiUy  goes 
by  the  name  of  tequesquite,  is  of  great  use  in  the  dis- 
solving of  the  muriates,  and  of  the  sulphurets  of  sil- 
ver. M.  Garces^  an  advocate  of  Zacatecas,  has  re- 
cently fixed  the  attention  of  his  countrymen  on  the 
tequesquite,  which  is  also  to  be  found  at  Zacualco, 
between  Vailadolid  aiid  Guadalaxara,  in  the  valley  of 
San  Francisco,  near  San  Luis  Potosi,  at  Acusquilco, 
near  the  mines  of  Bolanos,  at  Chorro  near  Duran- 
go,  and  in  five  lakes  around  the  town  of  Chihuahua. 
The  central  table-land  of  Asia  is  not  more  rich  in  soda 
than  Mexico. 

The  most  remarkable  places  of  this  province  are  ; 

Zacatecas^  at  present,  after  Guanaxuato, 
the  most  celebrated  mining  place  of  New 
Spain.     Its  population  is  at  least     .     -     .       33,00() 

Fresnillo,  on  the  road  from  Zacatecas  to 
Durango. 

Sombrerete,  the  head  town,  and  residence 
of  a  Diputacion  ,de  Mineria. 

Besides  the  three  places  above  named,  the  inten- 
dancy  of  Zacatecas  contains  also  interesting  metalli- 
ferous seams  near  the  Sierra  de  Pinos,  Chalchiguitec, 
San  Miguel  del  Mezquitas,  and  Mazapil.  It  was 
this  province,  also,  which  in  the  mine  of  the  Veta 
JVfgra  de  Sombre  ret  e  exhibited  an  example  of  the 
{greatest  wealth  of  any  seam  yet  discovered  in  the  two 
hemisphercj. 

*  Don  Jo&tph  Cartes  y  Eg'uia,  del  beneficio  de  los  fr.etate's  ilc: 
oroy  filata  A/exico,   1802,  p.    11.  and  49.  (a  work  ^\•hi^^i  dis- 


CiiAP.  vMi]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN. 


153 


STATISTICAL 
ANALYSIS. 

Population 
in 

1803. 

Extent  of 

Ssurlace  in 

square 

Leagues. 

No.  of  Inhwhit- 

aiits  to  itiP 
sq'iaie  Lea;,ue 

VII.  Intcndancy  of 
Oaxaca. 

534,800 

4,447 

120 

The  name  of  this  province,  uhich  other  geogra- 
phers less  correctly  call  Guaxaca,  is  derived  from  a 
Mexican  name  of  the  city  and  valley  of  HuaxyacaCy 
one  of  the  principal  places  of  the  Zapotec  country, 
which  was  almost  as  considerable  as  Teotzapotlan 
their  capital.  The  intendancy  of  Oaxaca  is  one  of 
the  most  delightful  countries  in  this  part  of  the  globe. 
The  beauty  and  salubrity  of  the  climate,  the  fertility 
of  the  soil,  and  the  richness  and  variety  of  its  pro- 
ductions all  minister  to  the  prosperity  of  the  inha- 
bitants ;  and  this  province  has  accordingly  from  the 
remotest  periods  been  the  centre  of  an  advanced  ci- 
vilization. 

It  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  tlie  intendancy  of 
Vera  Cruz,  on  the  east  by  the  kingdom  of  Guati- 
mala,  on  the  west  by  the  province  of  Puebla,  and  on 
the  south  for  a  length  of  coast  of  11  leagues  by  the 
Great  Ocean.  Its  extent  exceeds  that  of  Bohemia 
and  Morel  via  together ;  and  its  absolute  population  is 
nine  times  less  ;  consequently  its  relative  population 
is  equal  to  that  of  European  Russia. 

The  mountainous  soil  of  the  intendancy  of  Oaxaca 
forms  a  singular  contrast  with  that  of  the  provinces 
of  Puebla,  Mexico,  and  Valladolid.  In  place  of  the 
strata  of  basaltes,  amygdaloid,  and  porphyry  with 
grlinstein  base,  which  cover  the  ground  of  Anahuac 
from  the  IS-^  to  the  22''  of  latitude,  we  find  only 
granite  and  gneiss  in  the  mountains  of  Mixtera  and 

VOL.   II.  U 


154  POLITICAL  ESSxVY  OK  THE        [book  iu. 

ANALYSIS.    1  yi^'  Intc7tdancy  of  Oaxaca. 

Zapoteca.  The  chain  of  mountains  of  trapp  forma- 
tion only  recommences  to  the  south-east  on  the  west- 
ern coast  of  the  kingdom  of  Guatimala.  We  know 
the  height  of  none  of  these  granitical  summits  of  the 
intendancy  of  Oaxaca.  The  inhabitants  of  this  fine 
country  consider  the  Cerro  de  Senpualtepec,  near 
Vilaka,  from  which  both  seas  are  visible,  as  one  of 
the  most  elevated  of  these  summits.  However,  this 
extent  of  horizon  would  only  indicate  a  height  of 
2,350  metres.*  It  is  said  that  the  same  spectacle 
may  be  enjoyed  at  la  Ginetfa^  on  the  limits  of  the 
bishoprics  of  Oaxaca  and  Chiapa,  at  12  leagues 
distance  from  the  port  of  Tehuantepec,  on  the  great 
road  from  Guatimala  to  Mexico. 

The  vegetation  is  beautiful  and  vigorous  through- 
out the  v/hole  province  of  Oaxaca,  and  especially 
half  way  down  the  declivity  in  the  temperate  region, 
in  which  the  rains  are  very  copious  from  the  month  of 
May  to  the  month  of  October.  Ax.  the  village  of 
Santa  Maria  del  Tule,  three  leagues  east  from  the 
capital,  between  Santa  Lucia  and  Tlacochiguaya, 
there  is  an  enormous  trunc  oFcupressus  disticha 
(  sabino)  of  36  metresf  in  circumference.  This  an- 
cient tree  is  consequently  larger  than  the  cypress  of 
Atlixco,  of  which  we  have  already  spoken,  the  dra- 
gofinier  of  the  Canary  Islands,  and  all  the  boababs 
( Adansoniae)  of  Africa.     But  on  examining  it  nar- 

*  The  visual  horizon  of  a  mountain  of  2,350  metres  (7,709 
feet)  of  elevation  has  a  diameter  of  3'^  20'.  The  question 
has  be^n  discussed  if  the  two  seas  could  be  visible  from  the 
summit  of  the  Nevada  de  Toluca.  The  visual  horizon  oi 
this  has  2"  21'  or  58  leagues  of  radius,  supposing  only  an 
oi'dinary  refraction.  The  two  coasts  of  Mexico  nearest  to 
the  Nevado,  those  of  Coyuca  and  Tuspan,  are  at  a  distance  of 
54  and  64  leagues  from  it. 

t  118  feet.    7Ya7is. 


CHAP,  vui.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  ^55 

STATISTIC  AL^,^,T    T*      7  rn 

ANALYSIS.   5  >  n.  Litmdancy  of  Oaxaca. 

rowly,  M.  Anza  observes  that  what  excites  the  ad- 
miration of  ti-avellers  is  not  a  single  individual,  and 
that  three  united  tnincs  form  the  famous  sabino  of 
Santa  iMaria  del  Tule. 

The  intcndanc}'^  of  Oaxaca  comprehends  two 
mountainous  countries,  which  from  the  remotest 
times  \\  ent  under  the  names  of  Mixteca  and  Tzapo- 
teca.  These  denominations,  which  remain  to  this 
day,  indicate  a  great  diversity  of  origin  among  the 
natives.  The  old  Mixtecapan  is  now  divided  into 
upper  and  lower  Mixteca,  [Mixteca  alta  y  baxa.) 
The  eastern  limit  of  the  former,  which  adjoins  the 
intendancy  of  Puebla,  runs  in  a  direction  from  Ti- 
comabacca,  by  Quaxiniquilapa,  towards  the  South 
Sea.  It  passes  between  Colotopeque  and  Tamasu- 
lapa.  The  Indians  of  Mixteca  are  an  active,  intelli- 
gent, and  industrious  people. 

If  the  province  of  Oaxaca  contains  no  monuments 
of  ancient  Aztec  architecture  equally  astonishing 
from  their  dimensions  as  the  houses  of  the  gods 
{teocallis)  of  Cholula,  Papantla,  and  Teotihuacan,  it 
contains  the  ruins  of  edifices  more  remarkable  for  their 
symmetry  and  the  elegance  of  their  ornaments.  The 
walls  of  the  palace  of  Mitla  are  decorated  with 
Grecques^  and^labyrinths  in  mosaic  of  small  porphyry 
stones.  We  perceive  in  them  the  same  design  which 
we  admire  in  the  vases  falsely  called  Tuscan,  or  in 
the  frise  of  the  old  temple  oi  Deus  Redicshts^  near  the 
grotto  of  the  nympth  Egeria  at  Rome.  I  caused 
part  of  these  American  ruins  to  be  engraved,  ^vhicl^ 
were  very  carefully  drawn  by  Colonel  Don  Pedro  de 
la  Laguna,  and  by  an  able  architect,  Don  Luis  Mar- 
tin. If  wc  are  justly  struck  with  the  great  analogy 
between  the  ornaments  of  the  palace  of  Mitla,  and 
those  employed  by  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  we  are 


156  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  hi. 

ANALYSIS.    3  ^■^■^*  J'^'^icndancij  of  Oaxaca. 

not  on  tbat  account  to  give  ourselves  lightly  up  to  his- 
torical hypotheses,  on  the  possibility  of  the  existence 
of  ancient  communications  between  the  two  conti- 
nents. We  must  not  lorget,  that  under  almost  every 
zone  (as  I  have  elsewhere  endeavoured  to  demonstrate) 
mankind  take  a  pleasure  in  a  rhythmical  repetition 
of  the  same  forms  which  constitute  the  principal  cha- 
racter of  all  that  we  call  Grecques^^  ^leanders,  laby- 
rinths, and  arabesques. 

The  village  of  Mitla  was  formerly  called  Miguit- 
lan,  a  word  which  means  in  the  Mexican  language  a 
place  of  sadness.  The  Tzapotec  Indians  call  it  Lcq- 
bay  which  signifies  tomb.  In  fact  the  palace  of  Mitl^, 
the  antiquity  of  which  is  unknown,  was,  according 
to  the  tradition  of  the  natives,  as  is  also  manifest  from 
the  distribution  of  its  parts,  a  palace  constructed  over 
the  tombs  of  the  kings.  It  was  an  edifice  to  which 
the  sovereign  retired  for  some  time  on  the  death  oi" 
a  son,  a  wife,  or  a  mother.  Comparing  the  magni- 
tude of  these  tombs  with  the  smallness  of  the  houses 
which  served  for  abodes  to  the  living,  we  feel  inclined 
to  say,  with  Diodorus  Siculus,  (lib.  i.  c.  51.)  that 
there  are  nations  who  erect  sumptuous  monuments 
for  the  dead,  because,  looking  on  this  life  as  short  and 
passing,  they  think  it  unworthy  the  trouble  of  con- 
structing them  for  the  living. 

The  palace,  or  rather  the  tombs  of  Mitla,  form 
three  edifices  symmetrically  placed  in  an  extremely 
romantic  situation.  The  principal  edifice  is  in  best 
preservation,  and  is  nearly  40  metrest  in  length.  A 

*  M.  Zoega,  the  most  profound  connoisseur  in  Egyptian 
antiquities,  has  made  the  curious  observation  that  the  Egyp- 
tians have  never  employed  this  spdcies  of  ornament. 

*  131  feet.     Tram. 


fHAP.  vni  ]        KINGDOM  OF  NF.VV  SPAIN.  157 

^YnalyIS^^I  VII.  htendaimj  of  Oaxaca. 

stair  formed  in  a  pit  leads  to  a  subterraneous  apar*^^- 
ment  of  27  metres  in  lengtli  and  8*  in  bre  dth.  This 
gloomy  apartment  is  coAered  with  the  same  Grecqiies 
which  ornament  the  exterior  walls  of  the  edifice. 

But  what  distinguishes  the  ruins  of  Mitla  from  all 
the  other  remains  of  Mexican  architecture,  is  six  por- 
phyry columns  which  are  placed  in  the  midst  of  a 
vast  hall  and  support  the  ceiling.  These  columns, 
almost  the  only  ones  found  in  the  new  continent, 
bear  strong  marks  of  the  infancy  of  the  art.  They 
have  neither  base  nor  capitals.  A  simple  contraction 
of  the  upper  part  is  only  to  be  remarked.  Their 
total  height  is  five  metres  ;t  but  their  shaft  is  of  one 
piece  of  amphibolous  porphyry.  Broken  down  frag- 
ments, for  ages  heaped  together,  conceal  more  than  a 
third  of  the  height  of  these  columns.  On  uncovering 
them  M,  Martin  found  their  height  equal  to  six  dia- 
meters, or  12  modules.  Hence  the  symmetry  would 
be  still  lighter  than  that  of  the  Tuscan  order,  if  the 
inferior  diameter  of  the  columns  of  Mitla  were  not 
in  the  proportion  of  3  :  2  to  their  upper  diameter. 

The  distribution  of  the  apartments  in  the  interior 
of  this  singular  edifice  bears  a  striking  analogy  to 
what  has  been  remarked  in  the  monuments  of  Upper 
Egypt,  drawn  by  M.  Denon  and  the  sava?is,  who 
compose  the  institute  of  Cairo.  M.  de  Laguna  found 
in  the  ruins  of  Mitla  curious  paintings  representing 
warlike  trophies  and  sacrifices.  I  shall  have  occa- 
sion elsewhere  (in  the  historical  account  of  my  tra- 
vels) to  return  to  these  remains  of  ancient  civiliza- 
tion. 

The  intendancy  of  Oaxaca  has  alone  preserved  the 
cultivation  of  cochineal,  (coccus  cacti,)  a  branch  of 

*  38  feet  by  26.      Trans.         t  16.4  feet.      Trans. 


158  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  hi. 

ANALYSIS,   i  ^^^*  I^^i<^J^(icincy  of  Oaxaca. 

industry  vvhicli  it  formerly  shared  with  the  provinces 
of  Puebla  and  New  Galicia. 

The  family  of  Hernan  Cortez  bears  the  title  of 
Marquis  of  the  Valley  of  Oaxaca.  The  property  is 
composed  of  the  four  villas  del  Marquesado  and  49 
villages,  which  contain  17,700  inhabitants. 

The  most  remarkable  places  of  this  province  are  i 
Oaxaca^  or  Guaxaca,  the  ancient  Hu-  Popwia^'on 
axyacac,  called  Antequera  at  the  beginning 
of  the  conquest.  Thiery  de  Menonville 
only  assigns  6,000  inhabitants  to  it ;  but  by 
the  enumeration  in  1792  it  was  found  to 
contain  ....  24,000 

Tehuantepec  or  Teguantepeque,  a  port  situated  in  the 
bottom  of  the  creek,  formed  by  the  ocean  between 
the  small  villages  of  San  Francisco,  San  Dionisio, 
and  Santa  Maria  de  la  Mar.  This  port,  impeded 
by  a  very  dangerous  bar,  will  become^one  day  of  great 
consequence  when  navigation  in  general,  and  espe- 
cially the  transport  of  the  indigo  of  Guatimala,  shall 
become  more*  frequent  by  the  Rio  Guasacualco. 

San  Antonio  de  los  Cues,  a  very  populous  place  on 
the  road  from  Orizaba  to  Oaxaca,  celebrated  for  the 
remains  of  ancient  Mexican  fortifications. 

The  mines  of  this  intendancy  worked  with  the 
greatest  care  arc,  Villalta,  Zolaga,  Yxtepexi,  and 
Totomostla. 


CHAP.viii.]      KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN. 


159 


STATISTICAL 

ANALYSIS. 

Population 

in 

1803. 

Extent  of 

Surface  in 

s»iuarc 

Leitgues. 

1 

No.  ofliilialiil- 

ants  to  tilt: 
square  League. 

VIII.  Intendancy  of 
Mericla. 
1 

465,800 

5,977 

81 

This  intendancy,  concerning  which  valuable  in- 
formation has  been  furnished  to  us  by  M.  Gilbert,''' 
comprehends  the  great  peninsula  of  Yucatan,  situated 
between  the  bays  of  Campeche  and  Honduras.  It 
is  at  Cape  Catoche,  fifty -one  leagues  distant  from  the 
calcareous  hills  of  Cape  Saint  Antony,  that  Mexico 
appears  before  the  irruption  of  the  ocean  to  have  been 
joined  to  the  island  of  Cuba. 

The  province  of  Merida  is  bounded  on  the  south 
by  the  kingdom  of  Guatimala,  on  the  east  by  the  in- 
tendancy of  Vera  Cruz,  from  which  it  is  separated  b} 
the  Rio  Buraderas,  called  also  the  river  of  Crocodiles, 
{Lagartos ;)  on  the  west  by  the  English  establish- 
ments which  extend  from  the  mouth  of  the  Rio 
Hondo  to  the  north  of  the  bay  of  Hanover,  opposite 
the  island  of  Ubero,  (Ambergris  key.)  In  this  quar- 
ter Salamanca,  or  the  small  fort  of  San  Felipe  de  Ba- 


*  This  enlightened  observer  went  over  a  great  part  of  the 
Spanish  colonies.  He  had  the  misfortune  to  ]ose  in  a  ship- 
wreck south  from  the  island  of  Cuba,  among  the  shallows  of 
the  Jardins  clu  Roi,  o?  which  I  determined  the  astronomical 
posiiion,  the  statistical  materials  collected  by  him.  It  is  pro- 
per to  observe  here,  that  without  knowing  the  data  of  which 
I  v.as  in  possession,  Mr.  Gilbert,  by  estimating  himself  the 
number  of  villages  and  their  population,  concluded  that  Yuca- 
lan  contahied,  in  \S'H,  ncarl\*  hair'a  million  cf  inhabitants  ol 
all  casts  and  colours. 


160  POLITICAL  ESSxVY  ON  THE         [book  hi- 

^ANALYSib^^]^"^-  ^ntendancy  of  Merida. 

calar^  is  the  most  southern  point  inhabited  by  the 
Spaniards. 

The  peninsula  of  Yucatan,  of  which  the  norf  ^rn 
coast  from  Cape  Catoche,  near  the  island  of  Contoy, 
to  the  Punta  de  Piedras,  (a  length  of  81  leagues,)  fol- 
lows exactly  the  direction  of  the  current  of  rotation^ 
is  a  vast  plain  intersected  in  its  interior  from  north- 
west to  south-west  by  a  chain  of  hills  of  small  eleva- 
tion. The  country  which  extends  east  from  these 
hills  towards  the  bays  of  the  Ascension  and  Santo 
Spirito  appears  to  be  the  most  fertile,  and  was  ear- 
liest inhabited.  The  ruins  of  European  edifices 
discoverable  in  the  island  Cosumel,  in  the  midst  of  a 
grove  of  palm  trees,  indicate  that  this  island,  which 
is  nov/  uninhabited,  was  at  the  commencement  of  the 
conquest  peopled  by  Spanish  colonists.  Since  the 
settlement  of  the  English  between  Omo  and  Rio 
Hondo,  the  government,  to  diminish  the  contraband 
trade,  concentrated  the  Spanish  and  Indian  population 
in  the  part  of  the  peninsula  west  from  the  mountains 
of  Yucatan.  Colonists  are  not  permitted  to  settle 
on  the  western  coast, ^  on  the  banks  of  the  Rio  Baca- 
lar  and  Rio  Hondo.  All  this  vast  country  remains 
uninhabited,  with  the  exception  of  the  military  post 
{presidio)  of  Salamanca. 

The  intendancy  of  Merida  is  one  of  the  warmest 
and  yet  one  of  the  healthiest  of  equinoxial  America. 
This  salubrity  ought  undoubtedly  to  be  attributed 
in  Yucatan  as  well  as  at  Coro,  Cumana,  and  the 
island  of  Marguerite,  to  the  extreme  dryness  of  the 
soil  and  atmosphere.  On  the  whole  coast  from  Cam- 
peche,  or  from  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  de  San  Fran- 
cisco to  Cape  Catoche,  the  na^  igator  does  not  find 

*  Evidently  eastern  coast.      Trcrtn. 
1 


CHAP,  viii.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SfPAlN.  igj 

^ANALYS?s'''^lVIII.  Intendancy  of  Merida. 

a  single  .  spring  of  fresh  water.  Near  this  cape  na- 
ture has  repeated  the  same  phenomenon  which  ap- 
pears in  the  island  of  Cuba  in  the  bay  of  Xagua, 
described  by  me  in  another  place.*  On  the  north - 
em  coast  of  Yucatan,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  La- 
gartos,  400  metres  from  the  shore, f  springs  of  fresh 
water  spout  up  from  amidst  the  salt  water.  These 
remarkable  springs  are  called  the  mouths  [boccas)  de 
Conil.  It  is  probable,  that  from  some  strong  hy- 
drostatical  pression,  the  fresh  water,  after  bursting 
through  the  banks  of  calcarious  rock  between  the 
clefts  of  which  it  has  flowed,  rises  above  the  level  of 
the  salt  water. 

The  Indians  of  this  intendancy  speak  the  Maya 
language,  which  is  extremely  guttural,  and  of  which 
there  are  four  tolerably  complete  dictionaries  by 
Pedro  Beltan,  Andres  de  Avendano,  Fray  Antonio 
de  Ciudad  Real,  and  Luis  de  Villalpando.  The  pe- 
ninsula of  Yucatan  was  never  subject  to  the  Mexi- 
can or  Aztec  kings.  However,  the  first  conquerors 
Bemal  Diaz,  Hernandez  de  Cordova,  and  the  va- 
lorous Juan  de  Grixalva,  were  struck  with  the  ad- 
vanced civilization  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  penin- 
sula. They  found  houses  built  of  stone  cemented 
with  lime,  pyramidal  edifices  (teocallis)  which  they 
compared  to  Moorish  mosques,  fields  enclosed  with 
hedges,  and  the  people  clothed,  civilized,  and  very 
different  from  the  natives  of  liie  island  of  Cuba/j 

*  In  my  Tableaux  de  la  Miturc,  vol.  II.  p.  174.  and  235. 

t  J,312  feet.      Trans. 

\  Bernal  Diaz  adjudged  the  palm  of  superior  civilization  to 
the  natives  ot  Yucatati,  because  he  found  "  sus  ■vtrtfueii^a.f  cu- 
hiertaa."  Tuviinos  I'js,  suys  he,  fior  JioiiibrtH  inus  de  razon  que 
a  los  Indies  de  Cuba.  Why  ?  (loraue  andavan  los  de  Cuba  con 
»U8  verguen^as  de  fuera  .'    Hist.  Void.  foii<*  2.  col.  ii.    Trans. 

voi.  II.  X 


152  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  m. 

ANALYSIS.    5  VIII.  Intendancy  of  Meridcu 

Many  ruins,  particularly  of  sepulchral  monuments, 
(guacas,)  are  still  to  be  discovered  to  the  east  of  the 
small  central  chain  of  mountains.  Several  Indian 
tribes  have  preserved  their  independence  in  the 
southern  part  of  this  hilly  district,  vi^hich  is  almost 
inaccessible  from  thick  forests  and  the  luxuriance  of 
the  vegetation. 

The  province  of  Merida,  like  all  the  countries 
of  the  torrid  zone,  of  which  the  surface  does  not  rise 
more  than  1,300  metres*  above  the  level  of  the  sea, 
yields   only  for  the  sustenance  of  the    hihabitants 
maize,  jatropha,  and  dioscorea  roots,  but  no  Eu- 
ropean grain.     1  he  trees  which  furnish  the  famous 
Campeche   wood  [hcffmatoxylon  campechianum  L.) 
grow  in  abundance  in  several  districts  of  this  inten- 
dancy.    The  cutting  [cortes  de  polo  Campeche)  takes 
place  annually  on  the  banks  of  the  Rio  Champoton, 
the  mouth  of  which  is  south  from  the  town  of  Cam- 
peche, within  four  leagues   of  the  small  village  of 
Lerma.     It  is  only  with  an  extraordinary  permission 
from  the  intendant  of  Merida,  who  bears  the  title  of 
governor  captain-general^  that  the  merchant  can  from 
time  to  time  cut  down  Campeche  wood  to  the  east 
of  the  mountains  near  the  bays  of  Ascension,  Todos 
los  Santos,  and  El  Espirito  Santo.     In  these  creeks 
of  the  eastern  coast,  the  English  carry  on  an  exten- 
sive  and  lucrative  contraband  trade.    The  Campeche 
wood,  after  being  cut  down,  must  dry  for  a  year  be- 
fore it  can  be  sent  to  Vera  Cruz,  the  Havannah,  or 
Cadiz.     The  quintal  of  this  dried  wood  {palo  de 
tinta)  is  sold  at  Campeche  from  two  piastres,  to  two  pi- 
astres and  a  half,t  (from  10  f.  50  c.  to  12  f.  88  c.) 

*  4,264  feet.     Trans. 

tFroni  8s.  9(1.  to  10s.  llrf.      Trans. 


CHAP,  vm.]  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  153 

ANALYSIS.  }  VIII.  Lttendancy  of  Merida, 

The  haemotoxylon,  so  abundant  in  Yucatan  and  the 
Honduras  coast,  is  also  to  be  found  scattered  through- 
out all  the  forests  of  equinoxial  America,  wherever 
the  mean  temperature  of  the  air  is  not  below  22°*  of 
the  centigrade  thermometer.  The  coast  of  Paria,  in 
the  province  of  New  Andalusia,  may  one  day  carry 
on  a  considerable  trade  in  Campcche  and  Brazil 
{casalpinia)  wood,  which  it  produces  in  great  abun- 
dance. 

The  most  remarkable  places  of  the  intendancy  of 
Merida  are : 

Merida  de  Yucatan,  the  capital,  ten  Population. 
leagues  in  the  interior  of  the  country,  in  an 
arid  plain.  The  small  port  of  Merida  is 
called  Sizal^  to  the  west  of  Chaboana,  oppo- 
site a  sand  bank,  nearly  twelve  leagues  in 
length, 10,000 

Campeclie,  on  the  Rio  de  San  Francisco, 
with  a  port  which  is  not  very  secure.  Ves- 
sels are  obliged  to  anchor  a  good  way  from 
the  shore.  In  the  Maya  language,  cam  sig- 
nifies serpent,  and  peche  the  little  insect, 
(acarus,)  called  by  the  Spaniards  garapata, 
which  penetrates  the  skin  and  occasions  a 
smart  pain.  Between  Campeche  and  Me- 
rida are  two  very  considerable  Indian  vil- 
lages called  Xampolan  and  Equetchecan. 
The  exportation  of  wax  of  Yucatan  is  one 
of  the  most  lucrative  branches  of  trade. 
The  habitual  population  of  the  town  is      -        6,000 

Falladolid,  a   small  town,  of  which  the  environs 
produce  abundance  of  cotton  of  an  excellent  quality. 

•71    of  Fahrenheit.     Trana. 


Ig4  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  ni. 

^ANALYSIS^^IVIII.  Intendancy  of  Merida. 

This  cotton,  however,  brings  a  poor  price,  because 
it  has  the  disadvantage  of  adhering  very  much  to  the 
grain.  They  cannot  clean  it  {despepitar,  or  desmotar) 
in  the  country ;  and  two-thirds  of  its  value  is  ab- 
sorbed in  freight,  on  account  of  the  weight  of  the 
srairu 


cHAF.  vui.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN. 


16; 


STATISTICAL 

ANALYSIS. 

Population 
in 

1803. 

Extent  of 
Surface  in 

9«limre 
Leagues. 

No.  of  liihabit- 

»ufi  to  ilie 
S(iuareLe!igue. 

IX.  Intendancy  of 
Vera  Cruz. 

156,000 

4,141 

38 

This  province,  situated  under  the  burning  sun  ot 
the  tropics,  extends  along  the  Mexican  gulf,  irom  the 
Rio  Baraderas  (or  de  los  Lagartos)  to  the  great  river  oi" 
Panuco,  which  rises  in  the  metalliferous  mountains 
of  San  Luis  Potosi.  Hence  this  intendancy  includes 
a  ver)''  considerable  part  of  the  eastern  coast  of  New 
Spain.  Its  length,  from  the  bay  of  Terminos  near 
the  island  of  Carmen  to  the  small  port  of  Tampxico, 
is  210  leagues,  while  its  breadth  is  only  in  general 
from  25  to  28  leagues.  It  is  bounded  on  the  east  by 
the  peninsula  of  Merida ;  on  the  west  by  the  inten- 
dancies  of  Oaxaca,  Puebla,  and  Mexico;  and  on 
the  north  by  the  colony  of  New  Santander. 

A  glance  bestowed  on  tlie  5th  and  6th  plates  ac- 
companying this  work  will  show  the  extraordinary 
conformation  of  this  country,  which  was  formerly 
comprehended  under  the  denomination  of  Cuethckt- 
Ian.  There  are  few  regions  in  the  new  continent, 
where  the  traveller  is  more  struck  with  the  assem- 
blage of  the  most  opposite  climates.  All  the  west, 
em  part  of  the  intendancy  of  Vera  Cruz  forms  the 
declivity  of  the  Cordilleras  of  Anahuac.  In  the  space 
of  a  day  the  inhabitants  descend  from  the  regions, 
of  eternal  snow  to  the  plains  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
sea,  where  the  most  suffocating  heat  prevails.  The 
admirable  order  with  which  different  tribes  of  ve- 
getables rise  above  one  another  by  strata,  as  it  were^ 


165  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  hi. 

^ANALYSIS^^]^^'  IntendancyofVera  Cruz, 

is  nowhere  more  perceptible  than  in  ascending  from 
the  port  of  Vera  Cruz  to  the  table-land  of  Perote. 
We  see  there  the  physiognomy  of  the  country,  the 
aspect  of  the  sky,  the  form  of  plants,  the  figures 
of  animals,  the  manners  of  the  inhabitants,  and  the 
kind  of  cultivation  followed  by  them,  assume  a  dif- 
f;  rent  appearance  at  every  step  of  our  progress. 

As  we  ascend,  nature  appears  gradually  less  ani- 
mated, the  beauty  of  the  vegetable  forms  diminishes, 
the  shoots  become  less  succulent,  and  the  flowers 
less  coloured.  The  aspect  of  the  Mexican  oak 
quiets  the  alarms  of  travellers  newly  landed  at  Vera 
Cruz.  Its  presence  demonstrates  to  him  that  he  has 
left  behind  him  the  zone  so  justly  dreaded  by  the 
people  of  the  north,  under  which  the  yellow  fever 
exercises  its  ravages  in  New  Spain.  This  inferior 
limit  of  oaks  warns  the  colonist  who  inhabits  the 
central  table-land  how  far  he  may  descend  towards 
the  coast,  without  dread  of  the  mortal  disease  of  the 
vomito.  Forests  of  liquid  amber,  near  Xalapa,  an- 
'oiounce  by  the  freshness  of  their  verdure  that  this  is 
the  elevation  at  which  the  clouds,  suspended  over  the 
ocean,  come  in  contact  with  the  basaltic  summits  of 
the  Cordillera.  A  little  higher,  near  la  Banderilla, 
the  nutritive  fruit  of  the  banana  tree  comes  no  longer 
to  maturity.  In  this  foggy  and  cold  region,  therefore, 
want  spurs. on  the  Indian  to  labour  and  excites  his  in- 
dustry. At  the  height  of  San  Miguel  pines  begin  to 
mingle  with  the  oaks,  which  are  found  by  the  travel- 
ler as  high  as  the  elevated  plains  of  Perote,  where  he 
beholds  the  delightful  aspect  of  fields  sown  with 
wheat.  Eight  hundred  metres  higher  the  coldness  of 
the  climate  will  no  longer  admit  of  the  vegetation  of 
oaks  ;  and  pines  alone  there  cover  the  rocks,  whose 
summits  enter  the  zone  of  eternal  snow.  Thus  in  a 
6 


CHAP.  VIII.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  jgy 

^Yn^U™^^!  IX.  Intendancy  of  Vera  Cruz. 

few  hours  the  naturalist  in  this  miracnlous  country  as- 
cends the  whole  scale  of  vegetiition  from  the  hdiconia 
and  the  banana  plant,  whose  glossy  leaves  swell  out 
into  extraordinary  dimensions,  to  the  stunted  paren- 
chyma of  the  resinous  trees  ! 

The  province  of  Vera  Cruz  is  enriched  by  nature 
with  the  most  precious  productions.  At  the  foot  of 
the  Cordillera,  in  the  ever- green  forests  of  Papantla, 
Nautla,  and  S.  Andre  Tuxtla,  grows  the  cpidendrum 
vanilla,  of  which  the  odoriferous  frvit  is  employed 
for  perfuming  chocolate.  The  beautiful  convolvu- 
lus jalapse  grows  near  the  Indian  villages  of  Colipa 
and  Misantla,  of  which  the  tuberose  root  furnishes 
the  jalap,  one  of  the  most  energetic  and  beneficent 
purgatives.  The  myrtle,  {niyrtus  pimenta,)  of  which 
the  grain  forms  an  agreeable  spice,  well  known  in 
trade  by  the  name  oi pimienta  de  Tabasco^  is  pro- 
duced in  the  forests  which  extend  toAvards  the  river 
of  Baraderas,  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  intendancy  of 
Vera  Cruz.  The  cocoa  of  Acayucan  Avould  be  in 
request  if  the  natives  were  to  apply  themselves  more 
assiduously  to  the  cultivation  of  cocoa  trees.  On  the 
eastern  and  southern  declivities  of  the  Pic  d'Orizaba, 
in  the  valleys  which  extend  towards  the  small  town 
of  Cordoba,  tobacco  of  an  excellent  quality  is  culti- 
vated, which  yields  an  annual  revenue  to  the  crown 
of  more  than  18  millions  of  francs.*  The  similax, 
of  which  the  root  is  the  true  salsaparilla,  grows  in 
the  humid  and  umbrageous  ravins  of  the  Cordillera. 
The  cotton  of  the  coast  of  Vera  Cruz  is  celebrated 
for  its  fineness  and  whiteness.  The  sugar-cane 
yields  nearly  as  much  sugar  as  in  the  island  of  Cuba, 
and  more  than  in  the  plantations  of  St.  Domingo. 

*  750,060/.  sterling.    7"ram. 


16^  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  in. 

^YnalyIis^^JI^-  Intendancy  of  Vera  Cruz, 

This  intendancy  alone  would  keep  alive  the  com- 
merce  of  the  port  of  Vera  Cruz,  if  the  number  of 
colonists  was  greater,  and  if  their  laziness,  the  effect 
of  the  bounty  of  nature,  and  the  facility  of  providing 
without  effort  for  the  most  urgent  wants  of  life,  did 
mot  impede  the  progress  of  industry.  The  old 
population  of  Mexico  w?is  concentrated  in  the  in- 
terior of  the  country  on  the  table-land.  The  Mexi- 
can tribes  who  came  from  northern  countries,  as  we 
ha.ve  already  e:- plained,  gave  the  preference  in  their 
migrations  to  the  ridges  of  the  Cordilleras,  because 
they  found  on  them  a  climate  analogous  to  that  of 
their  native  country.  No  doubt,  on  the  first  arrival 
of  the  Spaniards  on  the  coast  of  Chalchiuhcuecan, 
(| Vera  Cruz,)  all  the  country  fiom  the  river  of  Papa- 
Boapan  (Alvarado  to  Huaxtecapan)  was  better  inha- 
bited and  better  cultivated  than  it  now  is.  However, 
the  conquerors  found,  as  they  ascended  the  table-land, 
ths  villages  closer  together,  the  fields  divided  into 
smaller  portions,  and  the  people  more  polished.  TIte 
Spaniards,  who  imagined  they  founded  new  cities 
when,  they  gave  European  names  to  Aztec  cities, 
followed  the  traces  of  the  indigenous  civilization. 
They  had  very  powerful  motives  for  inhabiting  the 
table-land  of  Anahuac.  They  dreaded  the  heat  and 
the  diseases  which  prevail  in  the  plains.  The  search 
after  the  precious  metals,  the  cultivation  of  European 
grain  and  fruit,  the  analogy  of  the  climate  with  that 
©fthe  Castiles,  and  the  other  causes  indicated  in  the 
fourth  chapter,  all  concurred  to  fix  them  on  the  ridge 
©f  tlie  Cordillera.  So'  long  as  the  Encomendcros^ 
^busing  the  rights  which  they  derived  from  the 
laws,  treated  the  Indians  as  serfs,  a  great  number  of 
them  were  transported  from  the  regions  of  the  coast 
ta  tlie  tible-Jand  in  the  interior,   either  to  v/ork  in 


CHAP.  VIII  ]  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  169 

STATISTICAL 7  fv     r  *      /  P  ir        n 

ANALYSIS.    5  ^^'  Intendancy  of  yera  Cruz. 

the  mines,  or  mereh'  that  ihey  might  be  near  the 
habitation  of  their  masters.  For  two  centuries  the 
trade  in  indigo,  sugar,  and  cotton,  was  next  to  no- 
thina:.  The  whiles  could  bv  no  means  be  induced 
to  settle  i  1  the  plains,  where  the  true  Indian  cUmate 
prevails ;  and  one  would  say  that  the  Europeans 
came  under  the  tropica  merely  to  inliabit  the  tempe- 
rate zone. 

Since  the  great  increase  in  the  consumption  of 
sugar,  and  since  the  new  continent  has  come  to  fiir- 
nish  many  of  the  productions  formerly  procured  only 
in  Asia  and  Africa,  the  plains  (tierras  calientes)  afford, 
no  doubt,  a  greater  inducement  to  colonization. 
Hence,  sugar  and  cotton  plantations  have  been  multi- 
plying in  the  province  of  Vera  Cruz,  especially  sinc<i 
the  fatal  CAcnts  at  St.  Domingo,  which  have  given  a 
great  stimulus  to  industry  in  the  Spanish  colonies. 
However,  the  progress  hitherto  has  not  been  very 
remarkable  on  the  Mexican  coast.  It  will  require 
centuries  to  repeople  these  deserts.  Spaces  of  manv 
square  leagues  are  now  only  occupied  by  two  or 
three  huts,  [hattos  de  ganado^)  around  Avhich  stray 
herds  of  half  wild  catde.  A  small  number  of  pow- 
erful families  who  live  on  the  central  table-land  pos- 
sess the  greatest  part  of  the  shores  of  the  intendan- 
cies  of  Vera  Cruz  and  San  Luis  Potosi.  No  agra- 
rian law  forces  these  rich  proprietors  to  sell  their  may- 
erazgos,  if  they  persist  in  refusing  to  bring  the  im- 
mense territories  which  belong  to  them  under  culti- 
vation. They  haras^j  their  farmers  and  turn  them 
away  at  pleasure. 

To  this  evil,  which  is  comjiion  to  the  coast  of  the 
gulf  of  Mexico,  with  Andalusia  and  a  great  part 
of  Spain,  other  causes  of  depopulation  must  be  add- 
ed.    The   militia   of  the  intendancy  of  V<"ra  Cruz 

VOL.  ir.  V 


170  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [boqkiii, 

^^ANALYS^S^^']  ^^-  I'ltcndancy  of  Vera  Cruz, 

)b  much  too  numerous  for  a  country  so  thinly  inha- 
bited. This  service  oppresses  the  labourer.  He 
flees  from  the  coast  to  avoid  being  compelled  to  enter 
into  the  corps  of  the  lanceros  and  the  miliciaiios.  The 
levies  for  sailors  to  the  royal  navy  are  also  too  fre- 
quently repeated,  and  executed  in  too  arbitrary  a 
manner.  Hitherto  the  government  has  neglected 
every  means  for  increasing  the  population  of  this  de- 
sert coast.  From  this  state  of  things  results  a  great 
Avant  of  hands,  and  a  scarcity  of  pro\  isions,  singular 
enough  in  a  country  of  such  great  fertility.  The 
wages  of  an  ordinary  workman  at  Vera  Cruz  arc 
from  5  to  6  francs^  per  day.  A  master  mason,  and 
every  man  who  follows  a  particular  trade,  gains  from 
15  to  20  francs  per  day,  that  is  to  say,  three  times  as 
much  as  on  the  central  table-lund. 

The  intendancy  of  Vera  Cruz  contains  within  its 
limits  tM'o  colossal  summits,  of  which  the  one,  the 
Volcan  d^  Orizaba,  is,  after  the  Popocatepetl,  the  most 
elevated  mountain  of  New  Spain.  The  summit  of 
this  truncated  cone  is  inclined  to  the  S.  E.  by  which 
means  the  crater  is  visible  at  a  great  distance  even 
from  the  city  of  Xalapa.  The  other  summit,  the 
Cofre  de  Perote,  according  to  my  measurement,  is 
nearly  400  metresf  higher  than  the  Pic  of  Tenerifte. 
It  serves  for  signal  to  the  sailors  who  put  in  at  Vera 
Cruz.  As  this  circumstance  renders  the  determina- 
tion of  its  astronomical  position  of  great  importance, 
I  observed  circum-meridian  altitudes  of  the  sun  on 
the  Coj7'e  itself.  A  thick  bed  of  pumice-stone  en- 
virons this  porphyritical  mountain.  Nothhig  at  the 
summit  announces  a  crater  ;  but  the  currents  of  lava 

'    From  4.S.  CJ.  to  5s.      Trans.         '•'.•  1,312  feet.      Trans. 


CHAP,  vni]  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  171 

STATISTICAL 7  tv    r  *      ;  r  ir  ^     n 

ANALYSIS.    5  1^-  InU-ndancij  of  Vera  Cruz, 

observable  between  the  small  A'illages  of  las  Vigas 
and  Hoya  appear  to  be  the  effects  of  a  very  old  lateral 
explosion.  'J^hc  small  Volcan  de  Tuxtla^  joining 
the  Sierra  dc  San  Martin,  is  situated  four  leagues 
from  the  coast,  S.  E.  from  the  port  of  Vera  Cruz, 
near  the  Indian  village  of  Santiago  de  Tuxtla.  It  is 
consequently  out  of  the  line  which  wc  before  indi- 
cated as  the  parallel  of  the  burning  volcanoes  of 
Mexico.  Its  last  eruption,  which  was  very  consider- 
able, took  place  on  the  2d  March,  1793.  The  roofs 
of  the  houses  at  Oaxaca,  Vera  Cruz,  and  Pcrote, 
were  then  covered  with  volcanic  ashes.  At  Perote, 
which  is  57  leagues*  in  a  straight  line  distant  from 
the  volcano  of  Tuxtla,  the  subterraneous  noises  re- 
sembled heavy  discharges  of  artiller}-. 

In  the  northern  pait  of  the  intendancy  of  Vera 
Cruz,  west  from  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Tecolutla,  at 
two  leagues  distance  from  the  great  Indian  village  of 
Papantla,  we  meet  ^^•ith  a  pyramidal  edifice  of  great 
antiquity.  The  pyramid  of  Papantla  remained  un- 
known to  the  first  conquerors.  It  is  situated  in  the 
midst  of  a  thick  forest,  called  Taj'in  in  the  Totonac 
language.  The  Indians  concealed  this  monument, 
the  object  of  an  ancient  veneration,  for  centuries 
from  the  Spaniards  ;  and  it  was  only  discovered  acci- 
dentally   by    some   hunters  about  thirty  years   ago. 

*  This  distance  is  greater  than  that  from  Naples  to  Rome ;  and 
yet  Vesuvius  is  not  even  heard  beyond  Gdcta.  M.  Bonpland 
and  myself  heard  distinctly  the  noise  of  the  Cotopaxi  on  its 
explosion  in  1802,  in  the  South  Sea  to  the  west  of  the  island 
of  Puna,  72  leagues  distant  from  the  crater.  The  same  vol- 
cano was  heard  in  1744  at  Honda  and  Tviompox,  on  the  banks 
of  the  river  Madclcna.  Sec  my  Geoj^rafih.ic  dcs  P/fl'i/f's,  page 
53. 


J73  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [dookiii. 

ANALYSIS.    5iX.  Intendancy  of  Vera  Cruz, 

This  pyramid  of  Papantla  was  visited  by  M.  Dupe,* 
an  obsL-rver  of  great  modesty  and  learning,  who  has 
long  employed  himself  in  curious  researches  regard- 
ing the  idols  and  architecture  of  the  Mexicans.  He 
examined  carefully  the  cut  of  the  stones  of  which  it 
is  constructed  ;  and  he  made  a  drawing  of  the  hiero- 
glyphics with  which  these  enormous  stones  are  co- 
vered. It  is  to  be  wished  that  he  would  publish  the 
description  of  this  interesting  monument.  The  fi- 
gur^t  publii^hed  in  1788,  in  the  Gazette  of  Mexico 
is  e?ctrenriely  imperfect. 

The  pyramid  oi  Papantla  is  not  constructed  of 
bricks  or  clay  mixed  with  whin  stones,  and  faced 
with  a  vyall  of  amygdaloid,  like  the  pyramids  of 
Chclula  and  Teotihuacan  :  the  only  materials  em- 
ployed arc  immense  stones  of  a  porphyritical  shape. 
Mortar  is  distinguishable  in  the  seams.  The  edi- 
fice, ho\yever,  is  not  so  remarkable  for  its  size  as  for 
its  symmetry,  the  polish  of  the  stones,  and  the, 
great  regularity  of  their  cut.  The  base  of  the  py- 
ramid is  an  exact  square,  each  side  being  25  metres^ 
in  length.  The  perpendicular  height  appears  not  to 
be  more  than  from  16  to  20  metres.^  This  monu- 
ment, like  all  the  Mexican  tcocallis,  is  composed  of 
several  stages.  Six  are  still  distinguishable,  and  a 
seventh  appears  to  be  concealed  by  the  vegetation 
with  which  the  sides  of  the  pyramid  are  covered.     A 

*  Captain  in  tlie  scrviee  of  the  king  of  Spain.  He  possesses 
the  bust  in  basaltes  of  a  Mexican  pricsiess,  wl)ich  I  em- 
ployed M.  Massard  to  engrave,  and  which  hears  great  resem- 
blance to  the  Catantliica  of  the  heads  of  Isis. 

^^cc-aX^o  Monumeiitidi  Arc hiiettii,r a  Messicana  cli  Pietro 
ilfar<77/er,  Roma,  1804,  tab.  i. 

\  82  feet.      Traits.  %  From  52  to  65  feet.      Trans. 


CHilF.  VIII.]        KIKGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIS.  173 

great  stair  of  57  steps  conducts  to  the  truncated  top 
of  the  teocalii,  where  the  human  a  ictims  were  sacri- 
ficed. On  each  side  of  the  great  stair  is  a  small  stair. 
The  facing  of  the  stories  is  adorned  with  hierogly- 
phics, in  \\  hicli  serpents  and  crocodiles  carved  in  re- 
lievo are  discernible.  Each  story  contains  a  great 
nimiber  of  square  niches  symmctricciUy  distributed. 
In  the  |irst  story  we  reckon  24  on  each  side,  in  tjie  se- 
cond 20,  and  in  the  third  16.  The  niniiber  of  these 
niches  in  the  body  of  tlie  pyramid  is  366,  and  tlicrc 
are  12  in  the  stair  towards  the  east.  The  Abbe 
Marquez  supposes  that  this  nunil^er  of  578  niches 
has  some  allusion  lo  a  calendiir  of  the  Mexicans  ;  and 
he  even  believes  th.at  in  each  of  tliem  one  of  the 
twenty  figures  was  repeat^^d,  ^\hich,  in  the  liierogly- 
phical  language  of  the  Toultecs,  served  as  a  symbol 
for  marking  the  da}  s  of  the  common  year,  and  the 
intercalated  da}s  at  the  end  of  the  cycles.  The  year 
being  composed  of  18  months,  of  which  each  had 
20  days,  there  would  then  be  360  days,  to  which, 
agreeably  to  the  Eg}  ptian  practice,  five  complemen- 
tary days  were  added,  called  nemontemi.  I'hc  inter- 
calation took  place  every  52  years,  by  adding  13  days 
to  the  cycle,  which  gives  360 -[-  5 -j-  13=378,  sim- 
ple signs,  or  composed  of  the  days  of  the  civil  ca- 
lendar, which  was  called  compohualilhultU  or  tonal- 
pohualli^  to  distinguish  it  fiom  the  com'dJimtkipohu- 
nlliztli^  or  ritual  calendar  used  by  the  priests  for  in- 
dicating the  return  of  sacrifices.  I  shall  not  attempt 
here  to  examine  the  hypothesis  of  die  Abbe  Marquez, 
which  has  a  resemblance  to  the  astronomical  expla- 
nations sriven  bv  a  celebrated  historian*  of  the  num- 

*  M.  Gatterer. 


174  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  iii. 

STATISTICAL7TV     r*     ^  j>  t-       ^ 

ANALYSIS.   3^-^'  ^^itendancy  of  Vera  Cruz. 

ber  of  apartments  and  steps  found  in  the  great  Egyp- 
tian labyrinth. 

The  most  remarkable  cities  of  this  province  are  : 
Vera  Cruz,  the  residence  of  tiie  intendant,  and 
the  centre  of  European  and  West-indian  commerce. 
T!ie  ciiy  is  beautifully  and  regularly  built,  and  inha- 
bitcd  by  nell-informed  merchants,  active  and  zeal- 
ous for  the  good  (^f  their  countr\^  Tiie  interior  po- 
lice has  been  much  improved  during  these  few  years. 
The  district  in  which  Vera  Cruz  is  situated  was  for- 
merly called  Chalchiuhcuecan.  The  island  on  which 
the  foitress  of  San  Juan  de  Ulua  was  constructed  at 
an  enormous  expense,  (according  to  vulgar  tradition 
at  an  expense  of  209  millions  of  francs,*}  was  visited 
by  Juan  de  Grixalva,  in  1518.  He  g  ve  it  the  name 
of  Ulua,  becauoC,  having  found  the  remains  of  two 
unfortunate  victlmst  there,  and  having  asked  the  na- 
tives why  they  saci  iiiced  men,  they  answered  that  it 
was  by  orders  of  the  kings  of  Acolhua,  or  Mexico. 
The  Spaniards,  who  had  Indians  of  Yucatan  for  in- 
terpreters, mistook  the  answer,  and  believed  Ulua  to 
'be  the  name  of  the  island.  It  is  vo  similar  mistakes 
that  Peru,  the  coast  of  Paria,  and  several  other  pro- 
vinces, owe  their  present  names.  The  city  of  Vera 
Cruz  is  frequendy  called  Vera  Cruz  Nueva,  to  dis- 
tinguish it  from  Vera  Cruz  Vieja,  situated  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Rio  Antigua,  considered  by  all  the  his- 
torians as  the  first  colony  founded  by  Cortez.     The 

*  8,334,O00/.  sterling-.     Trans. 

t  It  appears  that  tliese  sacrinces  took  j)lacc  on  several  of 
the  small  islands  around  the  port  of 'Vera  C'riiz.  One  of  these 
islands,  the  dread  cl"  navigators,  still  hears  the  name  of  Ida 
de  iiacrijicios. 

5 


CHAP.vui.]  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  X75 

^Y>?ALYsibVi  1^-  Jntendancij  of  Vera  Cruz, 

falsity  of  this  opinion  has  been  proved  by  the  xVbbe 
Chivigcro.  The  eity  begun  in  1519,  and  called  Fil- 
/aricu,  or  hi  Vilb  lliea  de  hi  Vera  Cruz,  was  situa- 
ted at  three  leat2;aes  distance  ironi  Cenipoi;na,the  head 
town  of  the  Totonacs,  near  the  small  port  of  Chia- 
liuitzla,  whieli  wc  can  with  diiTiculty  recognise  in 
Robertson's  work  under  the  name  of  Quiabislan. 
Three  years  afterwards  la  Villa  Rica  was  deserted, 
and  the  Spaniards  founded  another  city  to  the  south, 
which  has  preser\  ed  the  name  of  Pyhitigua.  It  is  be- 
lieved in  the  eountrv  that  this  secorid  colony  was 
again  abandoned  on  account  of  the  vomito^  which  at 
that  period  cut  off  more  than  tv*'o-thii  ds  of  the  Eu  • 
ropeans  who  landed  in  the  hot  season.  The  \iceroy. 
Count  de  Monterey,  who  governed  Mexico  at  the 
ond  of  the  sixteenth  century,  ordered  the  founda- 
tions of  the  Nueva  Vera  Cruz,  or  present  city,  to 
be  laid  opposite  the  island  of  Sin  Juan  d'Uhia,  in  the 
district  of  Chalchiuhcuecan,  in  the  very  place  where 
Cortez  first  landed  on  the  21st  of  April,  1519.  This 
third  city  of  Vera  Cruz  leeeivc-d  its  privileges  of  city 
only  under  Piiilip  III.  in  1615.  It  is  situated  in  an 
arid  plain,  destitute  of  running  v/nter,  on  which  the 
noitli  v.inds,  \^'hich  blow  v»-idi  imi^etuosity  from  Oc- 
tolicr  till  April,  have  formed  hills  of  moving  sand. 
Tliese  downs  {megcuios  dc  arena)  change  their  forni 
and  situation-  every  year.  They  are  irom  8  to  12 
metres*  in  height,  and  contribute  very  much  by  the 
revcrberatiori  of  the  sun's  rays,  arid  the  high  tempe- 
1  atiire  which  they  acquire  during  the  suiUmer  months, 
to  increase  the  suiTocating  heat  of  the  air  of  Vera 
Cruz.  Between  the  city  and  the  Aroyo  Gavilan,  in 
he  raidst  of  the  downs,  are  marshy  grounds- covcr- 

*  From  26  to  :3  foct.      Trans. 


3^76  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  in, 

^[^llVvfls^}^^'  Intendancy  of  Vera   Cruz. 

ed  v^ith  mangles  and  other  brushwood.  The  stag- 
nant water  of  the  Baxio  de  la  Tembladera,  and  the 
small  lakes  of  i'Hormiga,  el  Rancho  de  la  Hortaliza, 
and  Atjona,  occasions  intermittent  fevers  among  the 
natives.  It  is  not  improbable  that  it  is  also  not  one 
of  the  least  important  among  the  fatal  causes  of  the 
vomito  prieto,  which  we  shall  examine  into  in  the  se- 
quel to  this  work.  All  the  edifices  of  \^era  Cruz  are 
constructed  of  materials  drawn  from  the  bottom  of 
the  ocean,  the  stony  habitation  of  the  madrepores, 
[piedras  de  miicara^)  for  no  rock  is  to  be  found  in  the 
environs  of  the  city.  The  secondary  formations, 
w^hich  repose  on  the  porphyry  of  I'Encero,  and 
which  appear  only  near  Acazonica,  a  farm  of  the 
Jesuits  celebrated  for  lis  quarries  of  beautifully  folia- 
ted gypsum,  are  covered  with  sand.  Water  is  found 
on  digging  the  sandy  soil  of  Vera  Cruz  at  the  depth 
of  a  metre  ;"^-  but  this  water  proceeds  from  the  filtra- 
tion of  the  marshes  formed  in  the  downs.  It  is  rain 
water,  which  has  been  in  contact  with  the  roots  of  ve- 
getables ;  and  is  of  a  very  bad  quality,  and  only 
used  for  washing.  The  lower  people  (and  the  fact 
is  important  for  the  mediccil  topography  of  Vera 
Cruz)  are  obliged  to  have  recourse  to  tlie  water  of  a 
ditch  {zanja)  which  comes  from  the  meganos,  and  is 
•;o  me  what  better  than  the  well  watej*,  or  that  of  the 
brook  of  Tenoya.  People  in  easy  circumstances, 
howe\er,  drink  rain  water  collected  in  cisterns,  of 
which  the  construction  is  extremely  improper,  M"ith 
the  exception  of  the  beautiful  cisterns  [al<^-ibt's)  of  the 
castle  of  San  Juan  d'Ulua,  of  ^vhich  the  very  pure 
and  wholesome  water  is  only  distributed  to  those  in 
<b-e  miiitarv.     This  want  of  good  p^.'-Uibl.^  water  has 

■!■  9  8  foet.      Tram. 


rSAP.  VIII  ]         KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN 

iTATISl 
ANALY 


STATISTICAL^  ,xr      r,        ;  /.  xr  n 

:sis.    i  l-^*  Intendancy  of  yera  Lruz. 


been  for  centuries  looked  upon  as    one  of  tlie  nu- 
merous causes  of  the  diseases  of  the  inhabitants.  In 
1704,  a  project  was  formed  for  conducting  part  of  tlie 
fine  river  of  Xamapa  to  tlie  port  of  Vera  Cruz.  King 
Philip   V.   sent  a   French  engineer  to  examine   the 
ground.       The  engineer,    discontented,   no   doubt, 
with  his  stay  in  a  countrj-  so  hot  and  disagreeable  to 
live  in,  declared  the  execution  of  the  project  impos- 
sible.    In  1756  the  debates  were  renewed  among  the 
engineers,   the  municipality,  the  governor,  the  vice- 
roy's assessor,  and  the  fiscal.   Hitherto  there  has  been 
spent  in  visits  of  persons  of  skill  and  injudicial  ex- 
penses,  (for  every  thing  becomes  a  lawsuit  in  the 
Spanish  colonies !)  the  sum  of  2,250,000  francs.* 
Before  surveying  the  ground,  a  dike  or  embankment 
has  been  formed  1,100  metresf  above  the  village  of 
Xamapa,  at  an  expense  of  a  million  and  a  half  of 
francs,^  which  is  now  nearly  half  destroyed.     The 
government  has  le\ied  for  these  twelve  years  on  the 
inhabitants  a  duty  on  flour,  which  brings  in  aunu-ally 
more    than    150,000   francs.^     A    stone  aqueduct, 
{atarxea^   capable  of  furnishing  a  section  of  water 
of  116  square  centimetres,!]  is  already  constructed  for 
a  length  of  more  than  900  metres  ;^  and  yet,  not- 
withstanding all  these  expenses,   and  the  farago  of 
memoirs  and  informes  heaped  up  in  the  archives,  the 
waters  of  the  Rio  Xamapa  are  still  more  than  23,000 
metres**  distant  from  the  town  of  Vera  Cruz.     In 
1795,  they  ended  with  what  they  ought  to  have  be- 

•  93,757/.  sterling.     Trans.  f  3,608  feet.      Trans. 

%  62,505/.  sterling.     Trans.  %  6,2501.  sterling.     Trans. 

I!  17.98  square  inches.     Trans.      •;  2,952  feet     Trans. 
**  75,459  feet.     Trans. 
VOL.  II.  Z 


J78  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  mi. 

^\1?AL™S^^]^^-  Intendancy  of  Vera  Cruz. 

gun  with.  A  survey  was  made  of  the  ground,  and 
it  was  found  that  the  mean  body  of  the  Xamapa  W2is 
8"*.  33*  (10  Mexican  varas,  and  22  1.2  inches)  above 
the  level  of  the  streets  of  Vera  Cruz'  It  was  found 
that  the  great  dike  ought  to  have  been  placed  at  Me- 
dellin,  and  that  through  ignorance  it  was  constructed 
not  only  in  a  point  of  too  great  elevation,  but  also 
7,500  metres!  farther  from  the  port  than  the  neces- 
sary fall  for  conveying  the  water  demanded.  In  the 
present  state  of  things,  the  construction  of  the  aque- 
duct from  the  Rio  Xamapa  to  Vera  Cruz  is  estima- 
ted at  five  or  six  millions  of  francs.J  In  a  country 
abounding  with  immense  metallic  wealth,  it  is  not 
the  greatness  of  the  sum  which  frightens  the  govern- 
ment. The  project  is  put  off,  because  it  has  been 
lately  calculated  that  ten  public  cisterns,  placed  with- 
out the  precincts  of  the  city,  would  not  altogether 
cost  more  than  700,000  francs,§  and  would  be  suffi- 
cient for  a  population  of  16,000  souls,  if  each  cis- 
tern contained  a  volume  of  water  of  670  cubic  me- 
tres.ll  "  Why?"  it  is  said  in  the  report  to  the 
viceroy,  "  why  go  so  far  to  seek  what  nature  affords 
at  hand  ?  Why  not  profit  by  the  regular  and  abun- 
dant rains  which,  according  to  the  accurate  experi- 
ments of  Colonel  Costanzo,  furnish  three  times  more 
water  than  what  falls  in  France  and  Germany  ?"  The 
liabitual  population  of  Vera  Cruz,  without  including 
the  militia  and  seafaring  people,  is  16,000. 

Xalapa,  (Xalapan,)  a  town  at  the  foot  of  the  basal- 
tic mountain  of  Macultepec,  in  a    very  romantic 

*  27.32  feet'.     Trans.  t  24,605  feet.   Trans. 

I  208,350/.  or  250,020/.      Trans.  • 

§  29,169/.  sterling.     Trans.         ||  23,661  cubic  feet.   Trans 


CHAP,  vni  ]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  179 

^  AKALYS?b\^l  I^-  I^^teiulancij  of  Vera   Cruz. 

situation.     The    convent   of  St.    Francis,   like  all 
those  founded  by  Cortez,  resembles  a  fortress  at  u 
distance ;  for  in  the  early  periods  of  the  conquest, 
convents  and  churches  were  constructed  in   such  a 
manner  as  to  serve  for  a  defence  in  case  of  an  insur- 
rection  of  the  natives.     From  this  convent  of  St. 
Francis  at    Xalapa  we  enjoy  a   magnificent  view  of 
the  colossal  summits  of  the  Cofre  and  the  Pic  d'Ori- 
zaba,    of  the   declivity  of  the  Cordillera,   (towards 
I'Encero,    Otateo,   and  Apazapa,)    of  the  river  of 
I'Antigua,  and  even  of   the  ocean.     The  tiiick  fo- 
rests of  styrax,  piper,  mclastomata,  and  ferns  resem- 
bling trees,  especially   those  which  are  on  the  road 
from  Pacha  and  San  Andres,  the  banks  of  the  small 
lake  de  los  Berrios,  and  the  heights  leading  to  the 
village  of  Huastepec,  offer  the  most  delightful  pro- 
menades.     The  sky  of  Xalapa,  beautiful  and  serene 
in  summer,  from  the  month  of  December  to  the 
month  of  February  wears  a  most  melancholy  aspect. 
Whenever  the  north  wind  blows  at  Vera  Cruz,  the 
inhabitants  of  Xalapa  are  enveloped  in  a  thick  fog. 
The  thermometer  then  descends  to  12'^  or  16",*  and 
during  this  period  {cstacion  de  los  Nortes)  the  sun  and 
stars  are  frequently  invisible  for  two  or  three  weeks 
together.     The    richest  merchants    of  Vera    Cruse 
have  countr}-^  houses  at  Xalapa,  in  which  they  enjoy 
a  cool  and  agreeable  retreat  while  the  coast  is  almost 
iminhabitable  from  the  moschetoes,  the  great  heats, 
and  the  yellow  fever.    In  this  small  town  an  establish- 
ment is  to  be  found,  the  existence  of  which  confirms 
what  I  have  already  advanced  on  the  progress  of  iji- 
tellectual  cultivation  in  Mexico.     This  is  an  excel- 
lent school  for  drawing,  founded  within  these  few 

*  630  and  6O0  of  Fahrenheit. 


130  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  ii3, 

^^ALySs^^}!^-  Iritendancy  of  Vera  Cruz. 

years,  in  which  the  ehildren  of  ptror  artisans  are  in- 
structed at  the  expense  of  people  in  better  circum- 
stances. The  elevation  of  Xalapa  above  the  level  of 
the  ocean  is  1,320  metres.*  Its  population  is  esti- 
mated at  13,000. 

PerotCy  (the  ancient  Pinahuizapan.)  The  small 
fortress  of  San  Carlos  de  Perote  is  situated  to  the 
north  of  the  town  of  Perote.  It  is  rather  an  armed 
station  than  a  fortress.  The  surrounding  plains  are 
very  barren,  and  covered  with  pumice-stone.  There 
are  no  trees,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  solitary 
trunks  of  cypress  and  molina.  Height  of  Perote 
2,353  metres. t 

Cordoba^  a  town  on  the  eastern  declivity  of  the 
Pic  d'Orizaba,  in  a  climate  a  good  deal  warmer  than 
that  of  Xalapa.  The  environs  of  Cordoba  and  Ori- 
zaba produce  all  the  tobacco  consumed  in  New 
Spain. 

Orizaba^  to  the  east  of  Cordoba,  and  a  little  to  the 
north  of  the  Rio  Blanco,  which  discharges  itself  into 
the  Laguna  d'Alvarado.  It  has  been  long  disputed 
if  the  new  road  from  Mexico  to  Vera  Cruz  should 
go  by  Xalapa  or  Orizaba.  Both  these  towns,  having 
a  great  interest  in  the  direction  of  this  road,  have 
employed  all  the  means  of  rivalry  to  gain  over  the 
constituted  authorities  to  their  respective  sides.  The 
result  was,  that  the  viceroys  alternately  embraced  the 
cause  of  both  parties,  and  during  this  state  of  uncer- 
tainty no  road  was  constructed.  Within  these  few 
years,  however,  a  fine  causey  was  commenced  from 
the  fortress  of  Perote  to  Xalapa,  and  from  Xalapa  to 
I'Encero. 

Tlacotlalpan^  the  principal  place  of  die  old  province 

*  4,264  feet.     Trans.  t  7,719  feet.    Trans. 


CHAP,  vii^]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  ^gl 

^ANAL™S^^1^^-  Intendancij  of  Vera   Cruz. 

of  Tabasco.  Farther  north  are  the  small  towns  of 
Victoria  and  Villa  Hermosa,  the  first  of  which  is  one 
of  the  oldest  of  New  Spain. 

The  intendancy  of  Vera  Cruz  has  no  metallic 
mines  of  any  importance.  The  mines  of  Zomela- 
huacan,  near  Jalacingo,  are  almost  abandoned. 


i32 


POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE 


[book   111. 


STATISTICAL 
I         ANALYSIS. 

1 
1 

Population 
in 

1803. 

Extent  of 
Surlace  in 
square 
Leagues. 

No.  of  Inhabit- 
ants to  the 
square  League. 

X.  Intendancy  of 
San  Luis  Potosi. 

334,900 

27,821 

12 

This  intcndancy  comprehends  the  whole  of  the 
north-east  part  of  the  kingdom  of  New  Spain.  As  it 
borders  either  on  desert  countries,  or  countries  in- 
habited by  wandering  and  independent  Indians,  we 
may  say  that  its  northern  hmits  are  hardly  deter- 
mined. The  mountainous  tract  called  the  Bolson  de 
Mapimi  includes  more  than  3,000  square  leagues, 
from  which  the  Apachis  sally  out  to  attack  the 
colonists  of  Cohahuila  and  New  Biscay.  Indented 
into  these  two  provinces,  and  bounded  on  the  north 
by  the  great  Rio  del  Norte,  the  Bolson  de  Mapimi 
is  sometimes  considered  as  a  country  not  conquered 
by  the  Spaniards,  and  sometimes  as  composing  a 
part  of  the  intendancy  of  Durango.  I  have  traced 
the  limits  of  Cohahuila  and  Texas,  near  the  mouth 
of  the  Rio  Puerco,  and  towards  the  sources  of  the 
Rio  de  San  Saba,  as  I  found  them  indicated  in  the 
special  maps  preserved  in  the  archives  of  the  vice- 
royalty,  and  drawn  up  by  engineers  in  the  Spanish 
service.  But  how  is  it  possible  to  determine  territo- 
rial limits  in  immense  savannas,  where  the  farms 
are  from  15  to  20  leagues  distant  from  one  another, 
and  where  almost  no  trace  of  cultivation  is  anywhere 
to  be  found  ? 

The  intendancy  of  San  Luis  Potosi  comprehends 
parts  of  a  very  heterogeneous  nature,  the  different  de- 
nominations of  which  have  given  great  room  for 
geographical  errors.     It  is  composed  of  provinces, 


c»AP.  vnt.]         KINGDOM  OF  NEW  Sl'MN.  X83 

l-Jlysis'.^I^-  I^'tendatwy  of  San  Luis  Potosi. 


STATISTICAL 

AN: 


of  which  some  belong  to  the  Provinces  internas,  and 
others  to  the  kingdom  of  New  Spain  Proper.  Of 
the  former  there  are  two  immediately  depending  on 
the  commandant  of  the  Provincias  interims;  the  two 
others  are  considered  as  Provincias  intemas  del  Fifei/' 
nato.  These  complicated  and  unnatural  divisions 
arc  explained  in  the  following  table : 

The  intendant  of  San  Luis  Potosi  governs  : 

A.  In  Mexico  Proper : 

The  Province  of  San  Luis,  which  extends 
from  the  Rio  de  Panuco  to  the  Rio  de  Santander, 
and  which  comprehends  the  important  mines  of 
Charcas,  Potosi,  Ramos,  and  Catorce. 

B.  In  the  Provincias  internas  del  Vireynato  : 

1.  The  new  kingdom  of  Leon, 

2.  The  colony  of  New  Santander. 

C.  In  the    Provincias   inteimas  de    la  Comandancia 
gejieral  Oriental. 

1.  The  province  of  Cohahiiila. 

2.  The  province  of  Texas. 

It  follows  from  what  we  have  already  said  on  the 
latest  changes  which  have  taken  place  in  tlie  organi- 
zation of  the  Commandancia  general  of  Chihuahua, 
that  the  intendancy  of  San  Luis  now  includes,  be- 
sides the  province  of  Potosi,  all  which  goes  under 
the  denomination  of  Provincias  internas  Orientales. 
A  single  intendant  is  consequently  at  the  head  of  an 
administration  which  includes  a  greater  surface  than 
all  European  Spain.  But  this  immense  countiy, 
gifted  by  nature  with  the  most  precious  productions, 
and  situated  under  a  serene  sky  in  the  temperate  zone, 
towards  the  borders  of  the  tropic,  is,  for  the  greatest 
part,  a  wild  desert,  still  more  thinly  peopled  than  the 
governments  of  Asiatic  Russia.     Its  position  on  the 


184  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  hi. 

ST AT'mT'Tr' AT  ^ 

ANALYSIS.  5  ^'  ^^t<^ndancy  of  San  Luis  Potosi. 

eastern  limits  of  New  Spain,  the  proximity  of  the 
United  States,  the  frequency  of  communication  with 
the  colonists  of  Louisiana,  and  a  great  number  of  cir- 
cumstances which  1  shall  not  endeavour  here  to  de- 
velop, will  probably  soon  favour  the  progress  of  ci- 
vilization and  prosperity  in  these  vast  and  fertile  re- 
gions. 

The  intendancy  of  San  Luis  comprehends  more 
than  230  leagues  of  coast,  an  extent  equal  to  that 
from  Genoa  to  Reggio  in  Calabria.  But  all  this  coast 
is  without  commerce  and  without  activity,  Avith  the 
exception  of  a  few  small  vessels,  which  come  from 
the  West  Indies  to  lay  in  provisions  either  at  the  Bar 
of  Tampico,  near  Panuco,  or  at  the  anchorage  of 
New  Santander.  That  part  which  extends  from  the 
mouth  of  the  great  Rio  del  Norte  to  the  Rio  Sabina 
is  almost  still  unknown,  and  has  never  been  exa- 
mined by  navigators.  It  would  be  of  great  import- 
ance, however,  to  discover  a  good  port  in  this  north- 
ern extremity  of  the  gulf  of  Mexico.  Unfortunately, 
the  eastern  coast  of  New  Spain  offers  everywhere 
the  same  obstacles,  a  want  of  depth  for  vessels  draw- 
ing more  than  38  decimetres*  of  Avater,  bars  at  the 
mouths  of  the  rivers,  necks  of  land,  and  long  islots, 
of  which  the  direction  is  parallel  to  that  of  the  conti- 
nent, and  which  prevent  all  access  to  the  interior  basin. 

*  12  feet  5  6-10  inches.  In  page  63  of  Vol.  I.  the  author 
observes,  "that  the  coast  of  New  Spain  from  the  18o  to  the 
26o  of  latitude  abounds  with  bars ;  and  vessels  which  draw 
more  than  32  centimetres  (12  1-2  inches)  cannot  pass  over 
any  of  these  bars  without  danger  of  grounding."  In  a  former 
part  of  this  volume,  near  the  close  of  the  statistical  descrip- 
tion of  the  intendancy  of  Mexico,  he  states  that  the  bar  of 
Tampico  prevents  the  entry  of  vessels  drawing  more  than 
from  45  to  60  decimetres,  (from  14  feet  9  inches  to  19  feet 
8  inches.)     (See  a  former  note,  Vol.  II.  p.  111.)     Trans. 


CHAP,  vni.]      KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  185 

ANALYSIS.    3  ^*  ^ntendancy  of  San  Luis  Potosi. 

The  shore  of  the  provinces  of  Santander  and  Texas, 
from  the  21"  to  the  29'*  of  latitude,  is  singularly  fes- 
tooned, and  presents  a  succession  of  interior  basins, 
from  four  to  five  leagues  in  breadth,  and  40  to  50  in 
length.  They  go  by  the  name  of  lagumis^  or  salt- 
water lakes.  Some  of  them  (the  Laguna  de  Tamia- 
gua,  for  example)  are  completely  shut  in.  Others, 
as  the  Laguna  Madre,  and  the  Laguna  de  San  Ber- 
nardo, communicate  by  several  channels  with  the 
ocean.  The  latter  are  of  great  advantage  for  a  coast- 
ing trade,  as  coasting  vessels  are  there  secure  from 
the  great  swells  of  the  ocean.  It  would  be  interesting 
for  geology  to  examine  on  the  spot  if  these  lagunas 
have  been  formed  by  currents  penetrating  far  into 
the  country  by  irruptions,  or  if  these  long  and  narrow 
islots,  ranged  parallel  to  the  coast,  are  bars  which  have 
gradually  risen  abcve  the  mean  level  of  the  waters. 

Of  the  whole  intendancy  of  San  Luis  Potosi,  only 
that  part  which  adjoins  the  province  of  Zacatecas,  in 
which  are  the  rich  mines  of  Charcas,  Guadalcazar, 
and  Catorce,  is  a  cold  and  mountainous  country.  The 
bishopric  of  Monterey,  which  bears  the  pompous  title 
of  New  Kingdom  of  Leon,  Cohahuila,  Santander, 
and  Texas,  are  very  low  regions ;  and  there  is  very 
little  undulation  of  surface  in  them.  This  soil  is  co- 
vered with  secondar)'  and  alluvial  formations.  They 
possess  an  unequal  climate,  extremely  hot  in  sum- 
mer, and  equally  cold  in  winter,  when  the  north 
winds  drive  before  them  columns  of  cold  air  from 
Canada  towards  the  torrid  zone. 

Since  the  cession  of  Louisiana  to  the  United  States, 
the  bounds  between  the  province  of  Texas  and  the 
county  of  Natchitoches  (a  county  which  is  an  inte- 
gral part  of  the  confederation  of  American  republics) 
have  become  the  subject  of  a  political   discussion, 

VOL.   II.  A  a 


186  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  hi,; 

^ANALYSIS^^I^-  Intejidancy  of  Sail  Luis  Fotosi- 

equally  tedious  and  unprofitable.  Several  members 
of  the  Congress  of  Washington  were  of  opinion  that 
the  territory  of  Louisiana  might  be  extended  to  the 
left  bank  of  the  Rio  bravo  del  Norte.  According 
to  them,  "  all  the  country  called  by  the  Mexicans  the 
province  of  Texas  anciently  belonged  to  Louisiana. 
Now  the  United  States  ought  to  possess  this  last  pro- 
vince in  the  whole  extent  of  rights  in  which  it  was 
possessed  by  France  before  its  cession  to  Spain  ;  and 
neither  the  new  denominations  introduced  by  the 
viceroys  of  Mexico,  nor  the  progress  of  population 
from  Texas  towards  the  east,  can  derogate  from  the 
lawful  titles  of  the  congress."  During  these  debates 
the  American  government  did  not  fail  frequently  to 
adduce  the  establishment  that  M.  de  Lasale,  a  French- 
man, formed  about  the  year  1685  near  the  bay  of 
St.  Bernard,  without  having  appeared  to  encroach  on 
the  rights  of  the  crown  of  Spain. 

But  on  examining  carefully  the  general  map  which 
I  have  given  of  Mexico  and  the  adjacent  countries  on 
the  east,  we  shall  see  that  there  is  still  a  great  way 
from  the  bay  of  St.  Bernard  to  the  mouth  of  the  Rio 
del  Norte.  Hence  the  Mexicans  very  justly  allege 
in  their  favour,  that  the  Spanish  population  of  Texas 
is  of  a  very  old  date,  and  that  it  was  brought,  in  the 
early  periods  of  the  conquest,  by  Linares,  Revilla 
and  Camargo,  from  the  interior  of  New  Spain  ;  and 
that  M.  de  Lasale,  on  disembarking  to  the  west  of 
the  Mississippi,  found  Spaniards  at  that  time  among 
the  savages  whom  he  endeavoured  to  combat.  At 
present,  the  intendant  of  San  Luis  Potosi  considers 
the  Rio  Mermentas,  or  Mexicana,  which  flows  into 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  the  east  of  the  Rio  de  Sabina, 
as  the  eastern  limit  of  the  provihce  of  Texas,  and  con- 
sequently of  his  whole  intcndancy. 


CHAP.  VMi.J       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  187 

ANALYSIS.    1  X*  Intefidanctj  of  San  Luis  Potosi. 

It  may  be  useful  to  observe  here,  that  this  dispute 
as  to  the  true  boundaries  of  New  Spain  can  only 
become  of  importance  when  the  country,  brought 
into  cultivation  by  the  colonists  of  Louisiana,  shall 
come  in  contact  with  the  territory  inhabited  by 
Mexican  colonists ;  when  a  village  of  the  province 
of  Texas  shall  be  constnicted  near  a  village  of  the 
county  of  the  Opeloussas.  Fort  Clayborne,  situa- 
ted near  the  old  Spanish  mission  of  the  Adayes  ( Adats 
or  Adaisses,  on  the  Red  River,  is  the  settlement  of 
Louisiana  which  approaches  nearest  to  the  military 
posts  (presidios)  of  the  province  of  Texas ;  and  yet 
there  are  nearly  68  leagues  from  the  presidio  of  Na- 
cogdoch  to  Fort  Clayborne.  Vast  steppes,  covered 
with  gramina,  serve  for  common  boundaries  between 
the  American  confederation  and  the  Mexican  territo- 
ry. All  the  country  to  the  west  of  the  Mississippi, 
from  the  Ox  River  to  the  Rio  Colorado  of  Texas  is 
uninhabited.  These  steppes,  partly  marshy,  pre- 
sent obstacles  very  easily  overcome.  We  may  con- 
sider  them  as  an  arm  of  the  sea  which  separates  ad- 
joining coasts,  but  which  the  industry  of  new  colo- 
nists will  soon  penetrate.  In  the  United  States  the 
population  of  the  Atlantic  provinces  flowed  first  to- 
wards the  Ohio  and  the  Tenessee,  and  then  towards 
Louisiana.  A  part  of  this  fluctuating  population 
will  soon  move  farther  to  the  westward.  The 
very  name  of  Mexican  territory  will  suggest  the 
idea  of  proximity  of  mines  ;  and  on  the  banks  of  the 
Rio  Mermentas  the  American  colonist  will  already 
in  imagination  possess  a  soil  abounding  in  metallic 
wealth.  This  error,  diffiised  among  the  lower  peo- 
ple, will  give  rise  to  new  emigrations;  and  they  will 
only    learn   very   late   that    the    famous    mines    of 


Igg  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE          [book  hi. 

^^^L™s^^?X.  Intendancy  of  San  Luis  Potosi. 

Catorce,  which  are  the  nearest  to  Louisiana,  are  still 
more  than  300  leagues  distant  from  it. 

Several  of  my  Mexican  friends  have  gone  the  road 
from  New  Orleans  to  the  capital  of  New  Spain.  This 
road,  opened  by  the  inhabitants  of  Louisiana,  who 
come  to  purchase  horses  in  the  provincias^  internas, 
is  more  than  540  leagues  in  length,  and  is  consequent- 
ly equal  to  the  distance  from  Madrid  to  Warsaw. 
This  road  is  said  to  be  very  difficult  from  the  want 
of  water  and  habitations  ;  but  it  presents  by  no  means 
the  same  natural  difficulties  as  must  be  overcome  in 
the  tracks  along  the  ridge  of  the  Cordilleras  from 
Santa  Fe  in  New  Granada  to  Quito,  or  from  Quito 
to  Cusco.  It  was  by  this  road  of  Texas  that  an 
intrepid  traveller,  M.  Pages,  captain  in  the  French 
navy,  went  in  1767  from  Louisiana  to  Acapulco. 
The  details  which  he  furnishes  relative  to  the  intend- 
ancy of  San  Luis  Potosi,  and  the  road  from  Que- 
retaro  to  Acapulco,  which  I  travelled  thirty  years 
afterwards,  display  great  precision  of  mind  and  love 
of  truth  ;  but,  unfortunately,  this  traveller  is  so  incor- 
rect in  the  orthography  of  Mexican  and  Spanish 
names,  that  we  can  with  difficulty  find  out  from  his 
descriptions  the  places  through  which  he  passed.* 
The  road  from  Louisiana  to  Mexico  presents  very 
few  obstacles  until  the  Rio  del  Norte,  and  we  only 
begin  from  the  Saltillo  to  ascend  towards  the  table- 
land of  Anahuac.  The  declivity  of  the  Cordillera 
is  by  no  means  rapid  there ;  and  we  can  have  no 
doubt,  considering  the  progress  of  civilization  in  the 
new  continent,  that  land  communicatien  will  become 

*  M.  Pages  calls  Loredo,  la  Rlieda ;  the  forte  de  la  Bahia 
del  Esfieritu  Santa,  Labadia  Orquo  gui&sas,  Acoquisaa  ;  Sal' 
t/llo,  le  Sarlille  ;  Cohahuila,  CuuiUa. 

5 


CBAP.  viii]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  181/ 

^Yn^^lysi^^I  X.  Intendancy  of  San  Luis  Foiosi- 

gradually  ven'  frequent  between  the  United  States 
and  New  Spain.  Public  coaches  will  one  day  roll 
on  from  Philadelphia  and  Washington  to  Mexico  and 
Acapulco. 

The  tliree  counties  of  the  state  of  Louisiana,  or 
New  Orleans,  which  approach  nearest  to  the  desert 
country  considered  as  the  eastern  limit  of  the  pro- 
vince of  Texas,  are,  reckoning  from  south  to  north, 
the  counties  of  the  Attacappas,  of  the  Opeloussas, 
and  of  the  Natchitoches.  The  latest  settlements  of 
Louisiana  are  on  a  meridian  which  is  twenty-five 
leagues  east  from  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Alermentas. 
The  most  northern  town  is  Fort  Clayborne  of  Nat- 
chitoches, seven  leagues  east  from  the  old  situation 
of  the  mission  of  the  Adayes.  To  the  north-east  of 
Clayborne  is  the  Spanish  Lake^  in  the  midst  of  which 
there  is  a  great  rock  covered  with  stalactites.  Fol- 
lowingthis  lake  to  the  south- soulh-east,  we  meet  in  the 
extremities  of  this  fine  country,  brought  into  culti- 
vation by  colonists  of  French  origin,  first,'  with  the 
small  village  of  St.  Landry,  three  leagues  to  the  north 
of  the  sources  of  the  Rio  Mermentas  ;  then  the  plan- 
tation of  S.  INIarlin  ;  and,  lastly.  New  Iberia,  on  the 
river  Teche,  near  the  canal  of  Bontet,  v.hich  leads  to 
the  lake  of  Tase.  As  there  is  no  Mexican  setde- 
ment  beyond  the  eastern  bank  of  the  Rio  Sabina,  it 
follows  that  the  uninhabited  country  which  separates 
the  villages  of  Louisiana  from  the  missions  of  Texas 
amounts  to  more  than  1,500  square  leagues.  The 
most  southern  part  of  these  savannas,  between  the 
bay  of  Carcusin  and  the  bay  of  la  Sabina,  presents 
nothing  but  impassable  marshes.  The  road  from 
Louisiana  to  Mexico  goes  therefore  farther  to  the 
north,  and  follows  the  parallel  of  the  32d  degree. 
From  Natchez  travellers  strike  to  the  north  of  the 


190  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [bo^k  "i- 

ANALYSIS.   3  ^'  Intendancy  of  San  Luis  Potosi. 

lake  Cataouillou,  by  Fort  Clayborne  of  Natchitoches; 
and  from  thence  they  pass  by  the  old  situation  of 
the  Adayes  to  Chichi,  and  the  fountain  of  Father 
Gama.  An  able  engineer,  M.  Lafond,  whose  map 
throws  much  light  on  these  countries,  observes,  that 
eight  leagues  north  from  the  post  of  Chichi  there 
are  hills  abounding  in  coal,  from  which  a  subterra- 
neous noise  is  heard  at  a  distance  like  the  discharge 
of  artillery.  Does  this  curious  phenomenon  announce 
a  disengagement  of  hydrogen  produced  by  a  bed  of 
coal  in  a  state  of  inflammation  ?  From  the  Adayes 
the  road  of  Mexico  goes  by  San  Antonio  de  Bejar, 
Loredo,  (on  the  banks  of  the  Rio  grande  del  Norte,) 
Saltillo,  Charcas,  San  Luis  Potosi,  and  Queretaro, 
to  the  capital  of  New  Spain.  Two  months  and  a 
half  are  required  to  travel  over  this  vast  extent  of 
country,  in  which,  from  the  left  bank  of  the  Rio 
grande  del  Norte  to  Natchitoches  we  continually  sleep 
sub  dio. 

The  most  remarkable  places  of  the  intendancy  of 
San  Luis  are : 

San  Luis  Potosi,  the  residence  of  the  intendant, 
situated  on  the  eastern  declivity  of  the  table-land  of 
Anahuac,  to  the  west  of  the  sources  of  the  Rio  de 
Panuca.  The  habitual  population  of  this  town  is 
12,000. 

JVuevo  Sajitander,  capital  of  the  province  of  the 
same  name,  does  not  admit  the  entry  of  vessels  draw- 
ing more  than  from  eight  to  ten  palmas*  of  water. 
The  village  of  Sotto  la  Marina,  to  the  east  of  San- 
landcr,  might  become  of  great  consequence  to  the 
trade  of  this  coast  could  the  port  be  remedied.  At 
]nesent  the  province  of  Santander  is  so  desert,  that 

*  Fro-.Ti  J  1-2  to  C.SrS  feci.     Trana. 


I 


CHAP,  vrii.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  191 

^  ANAL™s^^'l  ^-  I^itendancy  of  San  Luis  Potosi- 

fertile  districts  of  ten  or  twelve  square  leagues  were, 
sold  there  in  1802  for  ten  or  twelve  francs. 

Charcas,  or  Santa  Maria  de  las  Charcas,  a  very 
considerable  small  town,  the  seat  of  a  diputacion  dc 
Minas. 

Catorce^  or  la  Purissima  Concepcion  de  Alamos  dc 
Catorce,  one  of  the  richest  mines  of  New  Spain. 
The  Jiealdt  Catorce,  however,  has  only  been  in  ex- 
istence since  1773,  w^hen  Don  Sebastian  Coronado 
and  Don  Bcrnabe  Antonio  de  Zepeda  discovered 
these  celebrated  seams,  which  yield  annually  the 
value  of  more  than  from  18  to  20  millions  of  francs.* 

Monterey^  the  seat  of  a  bishop,  in  the  small  king- 
dom of  Leon. 

Linares^  in  the  same  kingdom,  between  the  Rio 
Tigre  and  the  great  Rio  Bravo  del  Norte. 

Monclava^  a  military  post,  {presidio,)  capital  of  the 
province  of  Cohahuila,  and  residence  of  a  governor. 

San  Antonio  de  Bejar,  capital  of  the  province  of 
Texas,  between  the  Rio  de  los  Nogales  and  the  Rio 
de  San  Antonio. 

*  From  730,460/.  to  833,500/.  sterling.    Trans, 


192 


POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE         [book  hi. 


j      STATISTICAL 
ANALYSIS. 

Population 

in 

1803. 

Extent  of 

burface  in 

square 

Leagues. 

No.  of  Inhabit- 
ants to  the 
square  League 

XI.  Intendancy  of 
Da  ran  go. 

159,700 

16,873 

This  intendancy,  better  known  under  the  name 
of  New  Biscay,  belongs,  as  well  as  Sonora  and  Nuevo 
Mexico,  (which  remain  to  be  described,)  to  the 
Provincias  internas  Occidentales.  It  occupies  a 
greater  extent  of  ground  than  the  three  united  king- 
doms of  Great  Britain ;  and  yet  its  total  population 
scarcely  exceeds  that  of  the  two  towns  of  Birming- 
ham and  Manchester  united.  Its  length  from  south 
to  north,  from  the  celebrated  mines  of  Guarisamey 
to  the  mountains  of  Carca)',  situated  to  the  north- 
west of  the  Presidio  de  Yanos,  is  232  leagues.  Its 
breadth  is  very  unequal,  and  near  Parral  is  scarcely 
53  leagues. 

The  province  of  Durango,  or  Nueva  Biscaya,  is 
bounded  on  the  south  by  la  Nueva  Galicia,  that  is  to 
say,  by  the  two  intendancies  of  Zacatecas  and  Gua- 
dalaxara ;  on  the  south-east  by  a  small  part  of  the 
intendancy  of  San  Luis  Potosi ;  and  on  the  west  by 
the  intendancy  of  Sonora.  But  towards  the  nordi, 
and  especially  the  east,  for  more  than  200  leagues, 
it  is  bounded  by  an  uncultivated  country,  inhabited 
by  warlike  and  independent  Indians.  The  Acocla- 
mes,  the  Cocoyames,  and  the  Apaches  Mescaleros 
and  Fardones  possess  the  Bolson  de  Mapimi,  the 
mountains  of  Chanate  and  thp  Organos  on  the  left 
bank  of  the  Rio  grande  del  Norte.  The  Apaches 
Mimbrcnos  are   farther  to  the  west,  in   the  wild  ra- 


CHAP.viii.]      KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  193 

^InIlysk^^I  XI.  Iniendancy  of  Durango. 

vines  of  the  Sierra  de  Aclia.  Tlie  Cumanches  ajid  the 
numerous  tribes  of  Chichimecs,  comprehended  by 
the  Spaniards  under  the  vague  name  of  Mecos,  dis- 
turb the  inhabitants  of  New  Biscay,  and  force  them 
to  travel  always  well  armed  or  in  great  bodies. 
The  military  posts  {presidios)  with  which  the  vast 
frontiers  of  the  provincias  internas  are  providc^d,  are 
too  distant  from  one  another  to  prevent  the  incur- 
sions of  these  savages,  who,  like  the  Bedouir.s  of 
the  desert,  are  well  acquainted  with  all  the  stratagems 
of  petty  warfare.  The  Cumanches  Indians,  mortal 
enemies  of  the  Apaches,  of  whom  several  hordes 
live  at  peace  with  the  Spanish  colonists,  are  the  most 
formidable  to  the  inhabitants  of  New  Biscay  and 
New  Mexico.  Like  the  Patagonians  of  the  Straits 
of  Magellan,  they  have  learned  to  tame  the  horses 
which  run  wild  in  these  regions  since  the  amval  of 
the  Europeans.  I  have  been  assured  by  well  in- 
formed travellers,  that  more  agile  and  smart  horse- 
men do  not  exist-  than  the  Cumanches  Indians,  and 
that  for  centuries  they  have  been  scouring  these 
plains,  which  are  intersected  by  mountains  that  enable 
them  to  lie  in  ambuscade,  to  suqjrise  passengers. 
The  Cumanches,  like  almost  all  the  savages  wander- 
ing among  savannas,  are  ignorant  of  their  primitive 
country.  They  have  tents  of  buffalo  hides,  with 
which  they  do  not  load  their  horses,  but  great  dogs, 
which  accompany  tlie  wandering  tribe.  This  cir- 
cumstance, already  taken  notice  of  in  the  manu- 
script journal  of  the  journey  of  Bishop  Tamaron,* 
is  very  remarkable,  and  brings  to  mind  analogous 
habits  among    the  tribes  of  northern    Asia.     The 

*  Diario  de  la  visita  dioccaana  drl  lUustrisHtmo  Scnor  Tama- 
roTtf  obisjio  de  Durani^o  hecha  en  1759  y  17G0.  (MS.) 

VOL.   II.  a  b 


194  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  ni. 

^■^uSLYsfs^]^^*  Inf^ndancy  of  Durango. 

Cumanches  are  so  much  the  more  to  be  dreaded  by 
the  Spaniards,  as  they  kill  all  the  adult  prisoners,  and 
merely  preserve  children,  whom  they  carefully  bring 
up  to  make  slaves  of. 

The  number  of  warlike  and  savage  Indians  {Iiidios 
bravos)  who  infest  the  frontiers  of  New  Biscay  has 
been  somewhat  on  the  decline  since  the  end  of  the  last 
century,and  they  make  fewer  attempts  to  penetrate  in- 
to the  interior  of  the  inhabited  country  for  the  sake  of 
pillaging  and  destroying  the  Spanish  villages.  How- 
ever, their  hatred  to  the  whites  is  constantly  the  same, 
and  the  consequence  of  a  war  of  extermination  entered 
upon  from  abarbarouspolicy,  and  continued  with  more 
courage  than  success.  The  Indians  are  concentra- 
ted to^vards  the  north  in  the  Moqui,  and  the  moun- 
tains of  Nabajoa,  where  they  have  reconquered  a 
considerable  territory  from  the  inhabitants  of  New 
Mexico.  This  state  of  things  has  produced  the 
most  fatal  consequences,  which  will  be  felt  for  centu- 
ries, and  which  are  every  way  deserving  of  examina- 
tion. These  wars,  if  they  have  not  destroyed,  have 
at  least  removed  all  hopes  of  bringing  round  these 
savage  hordes  to  social  life  by  gentle  means.  The 
spirit  of  vengeance  and  an  inveterate  hatred  have 
raised  an  almost  insurmountable  banner  between  the 
Indians  and  whites.  Many  tribes  of  Apaches,  Mo- 
quis,  and  Yutas,  who  go  by  the  denomination  of  In- 
dians of  Peace,  {Indios  de  Paz,)  are  attached  to  the 
soil,  live  in  huts  collected  together,  and  cultivate 
maize.  They  would  have  less  objections,  perhaps,  to 
unite  with  the  Spanish  colonists,  if  they  fomid  Mexi- 
can Indians  among  them.  The  analogy  of  manners 
and  habits,  and  the  resemblance  which  exist,  not*  in 
the  sounds,  but  in  the  mechanism  and  general  struc- 
urc  of  the  American  languages,  may  become  pow- 


CHAf.vm.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  195. 

^YNiLvSs'^lXI.  Iniendancy  of  Durango. 

crful  bonds  of  union  among  people  of  the  same  ori- 
gin. A  wise  legislation  might  be  able,  perhaps,  to 
efface  the  recollection  of  those  barbarous  times,  when 
a  corporal  or  serjeant  in  the  Provincias  internas  went 
out  to  hunt  down  the  Indians  like  so  many  wild 
beast^.  It  is  probable  that  the  copper-coloured  indi- 
vidual would  rather  choose  to  live  in  a  village  inha- 
bited by  other  individuals  of  his  own  race,  than  to 
mix  with  whites  who  would  domineer  over  him  with 
arrogance ;  but  we  have  already  seen  in  the  sixth 
chapter  that,  unfortunately,  there  are  almost  no  Indian 
peasantry  of  the  Aztec  race  in  New  Biscay  and  New 
Mexico.  In  the  former  of  these  provinces  there  is 
not  a  single  tributary  individual,  and  all  the  inhabi- 
tants arc  either  white  or  consider  themselves  to  be  so. 
All  assume  the  right  of  putting  the  title  of  Don 
before  their  baptismal  names,  even  such  as  those  who 
in  the  French  islands,  through  an  aristocratic  refine- 
ment, by  which  languages  are  enriched,  go  by  the  ap- 
pellation of  Petits  blancs,  or  Messieurs  passables. 

This  struggle  with  the  Indians,  which  has  lasted 
for  centuries,  and  the  necessity  m  which  the  colonist, 
living  in  some  lonely  farm,  or  travelling  through 
arid  deserts,  finds  himself  of  perpetually  watching 
after  his  o\\v\  safety,  and  defending  his  flock,  his 
home,  his  wife,  and  his  children  against  the  incur- 
sions of  wandering  Indians  ;  and,  in  short,  that  state 
of  nature  which  subsists  in  the  midst  of  the  appear- 
ance of  an  ancient  civilization,  have  all  concurre  d  to 
give  to  the  character  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  north 
of  New  Spain  an  energy  and  temperament  peculiar 
to  themselves.  To  these  causes  we  must  no  doubt 
add  the  nature  of  the  climate,  which  is  temperate, 
an  eminently  salubrious  atmosphere,  the  necessity  of 
labour  in  a  soil  bv  no  means  rich  or  fertile,  and  the 


196  POLinCAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  hi. 

STATISTICAL  ?  YT     r  ,      /  /»  n 

ANALYSI!=.    5  ^A.  Intemlancy  of  Durango* 

total  want  of  Indians  and  slaves  who  might  be  em- 
ployed by  the  whites  for  the  sake  of  giving  them- 
selves up  securely  to  idleness  and  sloth.  In  the 
provincias  inter?tas,  the  development  of  physical 
strength  is  favoured  by  a  life  of  singular  activity, 
which  is  for  the  most  part  passed  on  horseback.  This 
way  of  life  is  essentially  necessary  from  the  care  de- 
manded by  the  numerous  fiocks  of  horned  cattle 
which  roam  about  almost  wild  in  the  savannas.  To 
this  strength  of  a  healthy  and  robust  body  we  must 
join  great  strength  of  mind,  and  a  happy  disposition 
of  the  intellectual  faculties.  Those  who  preside  over 
seminaries  of  education  in  the  city  of  Mexico,  have 
long  observed  that  the  young  people  who  have  most 
distinguished  themselves  for  their  rapid  progress  in 
the  exact  sciences,  were  for  the  most  part  natives  of 
the  most  northern  provinces  of  New  Spain.* 

*  The  connection  between  a  sound  mind  and  sound  body, 
jA7e??s  sana  in  corfiore  sano,  has  been  often  remarked ;  and 
those  countries  of  which  the  climate  and  mode  of  life  are  most 
favourable  to  the  physical  powers  of  man,  give  to  his  mental 
powers,  perhaps,  an  equal  superiority.  The  people  who 
breathe  the  keen  air  of  Lebanon  form  a  striking  contrast  to  the 
half  animated  inhabitants  of  the  plains  of  Syria.  What  a  con- 
trast also  between  the  natives  of  Switzerland  and  those  of  the 
marshes  of  Holland.  In  Spain  we  see  in  like  manner  a  keen 
and  animated  race  in  the  mountains  of  Biscay  and  Catalonia; 
and  in  France,  it  is  not  on  the  banks  of  the  Seine,  but  in  the 
mountains  and  vales  of  the  Ccvennes,  of  the  inhabitants  of 
which  Marmontel  draws  so  fine  a  picture  in  his  Memoirs, 
where  the  national  character  appears  to  the  greatest  advan- 
tage. In  Germany  and  Italy  the  natives  of  the  hills  and  vales 
of  Saxony  and  Tuscany  equally  outstrip  the  rest  of  their 
countrymen  ;  and?  perhaps,  in  our  country  it  is  not  among 
the  unhealthy  occupations  of  the  trading  and  manufacturing 
towns  of  the  south  where  we  are  to  seek  for  the  most  acute 
and  intelligent  popuhuion.  Those  who  have  examined  at- 
tentively the  different  classes  of  inhabitants  in  this  island  have 


CHAP. VIII.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  197 

STATISTICAL ^vi    r,      /  rn 

ANA  LYSIS.     5  ^  1  •  Intendancy  of  D  wan  go. 

The  intendancy  of  Diirango  comprehends  the 
northern  extremity  of  the  great  table-land  of  Anahuac, 
which  dccHnes  to  the  north- cast  towards  the  banks 
of  the  Rio  grandc  del  Norte*  The  environs  of  the 
city  of  Durango  are  still,  however,  according  to  the 
barometrical  measurement  of  Don  Juan  Jose  d'Otey- 
za,  more  than  2,000  metres*  cle^•ated  above  the 
level  of  the  ocean.  This  great  elevation  appears 
to  continue  till  towards  Chihuahua;  for  it  is  the 
central  chain  of  the  Sierra  Madre,  which,  (as  we  have 
already  indicated  in  the  general  physical  view  of 
the  country,!)  near  San  Jose  del  Parral,  nms  in  a  di- 
rection north-north-west  towards  the  Sierra  Verde 
and  the  Sierra  de  las  Grullas. 

There  are  reckoned  in  la  Nueva  Biscaya  one  city 
or  cwdad,  (Durango,)  six  villas,  (Chihuahua,  San  Juan 
del  Rio,  Nombre  de  Dios,  Papasquiaro,  Saltillo, 
and  Mapimi,)  199  villages  or  pueblos,  75  parishes  or 
paroquias,  152  farms  or  haciendas,  37  missions,  and 
400  cottages  or  ranchos. 

uniformly  remarked,  that  the  heaUhy  inhabitants  of  the  coun- 
try are  not  more  superior  in  bodily  perfection  than  in  mental 
qualities  to  the  automaton  inhabitants  of  our  cities.  The 
Greeks,  of  whom  we  know  not  from  the  remains  which  have 
come  down  to  us  whether  most  to  admire  the  beauty  of  their 
form  or  their  mental  endowments,  were  studious  of  every 
art  by  which  the  physical  energies  could  be  developed,  and 
were  more  ambitious,  perhaps,  of  being  the  first  men  than 
the  first  weavers  in  the  world.  Mental  energy  must  always 
more  or  less  depend  on  a  sound  and  vigorous  temperament; 
and  though  the  most  perfect  man  may  not  be  the  savage  of 
Rousseau,  we  arc  not  the  more,  however,  to  look  for  him  in 
the  enervated  inhabitant  of  the  cotton-mill  or  the  drawing- 
room.     Trans. 

*  6,561  feet.      Trans.         t  Vol.  I.  p.  49. 


19^  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  m. 

STATISTICAL^  VT      T,     ^  /»  n 

ANALYSIS,   s^^'  ^nteiiaancy  of  JJurango. 

The  most  remarkable  places  are  : 
Durango^  or  Guadiana,  the  residence  of  an  inten- 
dant  and  a  bishop,  in  die  most  southern  part  of  New 
Biscay,  at  170  leagues  distance,  in  a  straight  line 
from  the  city  of  Mexico,  and  298  from  the  town  of 
Santa  Fe.  The  height  of  the  town  is  2,087  metres.* 
There  are  frequent  falls  of  snow,  and  the  thermome- 
ter (under  the  24°  25')  descends  to  8°t  below  the 
freezing  point.  A  group  of  rocks,  covered  with 
scoria,  called  la  Brena^  rise  in  the  middle  of  a  very 
level  plain  between  the  capital,  the  plantations  del 
Ojo,  and  del  Chorro,  and  the  smalltown  of  Nombre 
de  Dios.  This  group,  of  a  very  grotesque  form, 
which  is  12  leagues  in  length  from  north  to  south, 
and  six  leagues  in  breadth  from  east  to  west,  de- 
serves particularly  to  fix  the  attention  of  mineralogists. 
The  rocks,  which  constitute  the  Brena,  are  of  basal- 
tic amygdaloid,  and  appear  to  have  been  raised  up  by 
volcanic  fire.  The  neighbouring  mountains  were 
examined  by  M.  Oteyza,  particularly  that  of  the 
Frayle,  near  the  hacienda  del  Ojo.  He  found  on 
the  summit  a  crater  of  nearly  100  metresj  in  cir- 
cumference, and  more  than  30  metres^  of  perpendicu- 
lar depth.  In  the  environs  of  Durango  is  also  to  be 
found  insulated  in  the  plain  the  enormous  mass  of 
malleable  iron  and  nickel,  which  is  of  the  identical 
composition  of  the  aerolithos,  which  fell  in  1751  at 
Hraschina,  near  Agram  in  Hungary.  Specimens 
were  communicated  to  me  by  the  learned  director  of 
the  Tribunal  dc  Mineria  de  Mexico^  Don  Fausto 
d'Elhuyar,  which  I  deposited  in  diftbrent  cabinets  of 
Europe,  and  of  which  MM.  Vauquelin  and  Klap- 

*  6,845  feet.      Trans.  t  14^'*  of  Fahrenheit.     Trans. 

\  328  feet.      Trans.  §9o  feet.      Trans. 

6 


CHAP,  vni]  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  199 

STATISTICAL7  vT      T*     ^  r  T\ 

ANALYSIS.    j^I-  Intendancy  of  Diirango. 

roth  published  an  analysis.  This  mass  of  Durango 
is  affirmed  to  weigh  upwards  of  1,900  myriagram- 
mes,*  which  is  400t  more  than  the  aerolithos  dis- 
covered at  Olumpa  in  the  Tucuman  by  M.  Rubin  ' 
de  Celis.  A  distinguished  mineralogist,  M.  Frede- 
rick Sonnenschmidt,  J  who  travelled  over  much  more 
of  Mexico  than  myself,  discovered  also  in  1792,  in 
the  interior  of  the  town  of  Zacatecas,  a  mass  of  mal- 
leable iron  of  the  weight  of  97  m)Tiagrammes,5 
which  in  its  exterior  and  physical  character  was  found 
by  him  entirely  analogous  with  the  malleable  iron 
described  by  the  celebrated  Pallas.  The  population 
of  Durango  is  12,000. 

Chihuahua^  the  residence  of  the  captain- general 
of  the  provincias  intemas,  surrounded  with  consi- 
derable mines  to  the  east  of  the  great  real  of  Santa 
Rosa  de  Cosiguiriachi.     Population,  11,600. 

San  Juan  del  Bio,  to  the  south-west  of  the  lake  of 
Parras.  We  must  not  confound  this  town  with  the 
place  which  bears  the  same  name  in  the  intendancy 
of  Mexico,  which  is  situated  to  the  east  of  Quere- 
taro.     Population,  10,200. 

Nombre  de  Dios,  a  considerable  town  on  the  road 
from  the  famous  mines  of  Sombrerete  to  Durango. 
Population,  6,800. 

PasquiarOy  a  small  town  to  the  south  of  the  Rio 
de  Nasas.     Population,  5,600. 

Saitiilo,  on  the  confines  of  the  province  of  Coha- 
huila  and  the  small  kingdom  of  Leon.  This  town 
is  surrounded  with  arid  plains,  in  which  the  travel- 

*  41,933  pounds  avoirdupois.  Trans. 
t  8,228  pounds  avoirdupois.  Trans. 
\  Gazeta  de  Mexico,  torn.  v.  p.  59. 

^  2,140  poiinds  avoirdupois.     Trans. 


200  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE         [&ook  ii,. 

^  anJvlysis^^]^^-  Intendancy  of  Durango. 

ler  suffers  very  much  from  want  of  water.  The 
table-land  on  which  the  Saltillo  is  situated  de- 
scends  towards  Monclova,  the  Rio  del  Norte,  and 
the  province  of  Texas,  where,  in  place  of  European 
com,  we  find  only  fields  covered  with  cactus.  Popu- 
lation,  6,000. 

Mapimis,  with  a  military  post  (.presidio)  to  the 
east  of  the  Cerro  de  la  Cadena,  on  the  uncultivated 
border,  called  Bolson  de  Mapimi.  Population, 
2,400. 

Parras,  near  a  lake  of  the  same  name,  west  from 
Saltillo.  A  species  of  wild  vine  found  in  this  beau- 
tiful situation  has  procured  it  the  name  of  Parras  from 
the  Spaniards.  The  conquerors  transplanted  to  this 
place  the  vitis  vi?iijera  of  Asia;  and  this  branch  of 
industry  has  succeeded  very  well,  notwithstanding 
the  hatred  sworn  by  the  monopolists  of  Cadiz  for 
centuries  to  the  cultivation  of  the  olive,  the  vine, 
and  the  mulberry,  in  the  provinces  of  Spanish  Ame- 
rica. 

San  Pedro  de  Batopilas,  formerly  celebrated  for  the 
great  wealth  of  its  mines,  to  the  west  of  the  Rio  de 
Conchos.      Population,  8,000. 

San  Jose  del  Parral,  the  residence  of  a  Diputa- 
cion  de  Minas.  This  real,  as  well  as  the  town  of 
Parras,  received  its  name  from  the  great  number  of 
wild  vine  shoots  with  which  the  country  was  covered 
on  the  first  arrival  of  the  Spaniards.  Population, 
5,000. 

Santa  Rosa  de  Cosiguiriachi,  surrounded  with  sil- 
ver mines,  at  the  foot  of  the  Sierra  de  los  Metates. 
I  have  seen  a  very  recent  memoir  of  the  intendant  of 
Durango,  in  which  the  population  of  this  real  was 
made  to  amount  to  10,700. 

Guarisamey,  very  old  mines  on  tlie  road  from  Du- 
rango to  Copala.     Population,  3,800. 


CHAP.  VI n,]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN. 


201 


STATISTICAL 

ANALiSiS. 

Population 
in 
1803. 

F^xtrnt  of 

■surface  in 

squa'ie 

Leagucs. 

No.  ofIiil.al)il- 

anislo  llic 
squareLeague. 

XII.  Intendancy  of 
Sonora. 

121,400 

1 

19,143 

6 

This  intendancy,  which  is  still  more  thinly  peopled 
than  that  of  Durango,  extends  along  the  Guif  of 
California,  called  also  the  Sea  of  Cortez,  for  more 
than  280  leagues  from  the  great  bay  of  Bayona,  or 
the  Rio  del  Rosario,  to  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Colora- 
do, formerly  called  Rio  de  Balzas,  on  the  banks  of 
which  the  missionary  monks  Pedro  Nadal  and  Mar- 
cos de  Niza  made  astronomical  observations  in  the 
I6th  century.  The  breadth  of  the  intendancy  is  by 
no  means  uniform.  From  the  tropic  of  Cancer  to 
the  27th  degree  the  breadth  scarcely  exceeds  50 
leagues  ;  but  farther  north,  towards  the  Rio  Gila,  it 
increases  so  conisderably,  that  on  the  parallel  of 
Arispe  it  is  more  than  128  leagues. 

The  intendancy  of  Sonora  comprehends  an  extent 
of  hilly  country  of  greater  surface  than  the  half  of 
France  ;  but  its  absolute  population  is  not  equal  to 
the  fourth  of  the  most  peopled  department  of  that 
empire.  The  intendant  who  resides  in  the  town  of 
Arispe  has  the  charge,  as  well  as  the  intendant  of 
San  Luis  Potosi,  of  the  administration  of  several 
provinces,  which  have  preserved  the  particular  names 
which  they  had  before  the  union.  The  intendancy 
of  Sonora,  consequently,  comprehends  the  three  pro- 
vinces of  Cina/oa,  or  Sinaloa,  Ostimury  and  Sonora 
Proper.  The  first  extends  from  the  Rio  del  Rosario 
to  the  Rio  del  Fuerte  ;  the  second  from  the  Rio  del 


VOL,    II. 


c  c 


302  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  su, 

^AN™YSia^]^^I-  Intendancy  of  Sonora, 

Fuerte  to  the  Rio  del  Mayo ;  and  the  province  of  So- 
nora, called  also  in  old  maps  by  the  name  of  New 
Navarre,  includes  all  the  northern  extremity  of  this 
intendancy.  The  small  district  of  Cinaloa  is  now 
looked  on  as  part  of  the  province  of  Cinaloa.  The 
intendancy  of  Sonora  is  bounded  on  the  west  by  the 
sea;  on  the  south  by  the  intendancy  of  Guadalaxara ; 
and  on  the  east  by  a  very  uncultivated  part  of  New 
Biscay.  Its  northern  limits  are  very  uncertain.  The 
villages  de  la  Pimeria  alta  are  separated  from  the 
banks  of  the  Rio  Gila  by  a  region  inhabited  by  in- 
dependent Indians,  of  which  neither  the  soldiers  sta- 
tioned in  the  presidios,  nor  the  monks  posted  in  the 
neighbouring  missions,  have  been  hitherto  able  to 
make  the  conquest.* 

The  three  most  considerable  rivers  of  Sonora  are 
Culiacan,  Mayo,  and  Yaqui,  or  Sonora.  From  the 
port  of  Guitivis,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Mayo,  call- 
ed also  Santa  Cruz  de  Mayo,  the  courier  embarks 
for  California,  charged  with  the  despatches  of  the 
government  and  the  public  correspondence.  This 
courier  goes  on  horseback  from  Guatimala  to  the 
city  of  Mexico,  and  from  thence  by  Guadalaxara  and 
the  Rosario  to  Guitivis.  After  Grossing  in  a  lancha 
the  sea  of  Cortez,  he  disembarks  at  the  village  of 
Loreto  in  old  California.  From  this  village  letters 
are  sent  from  mission  to  mission  to  Monterey  and 
the  port  of  San  Francisco,  situated  in  New  California 
under  37''  48'  of  north  latitude.     They  thus  traverse 

*  To  go  a  la  conquista,  to  conquer,  (conguisfar^)  are  the 
technical  terms  used  by  the  missionaries  in  America  to  sig- 
nify that  they  have  planted  crosses,  around  which  the  Indians 
have  constructed  a  few  huts ;  but,  unfortunately  for  the  In- 
dians, the  words  conquer  and  civilize  jre  by  no  means  synony- 
mous. 


cwAP.  vin.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  203 

^ANALYSIS.    ]  ^^I-  Intendancy  of  Sonora, 

a  route  of  posts  of  more  than  920  leagues,  that  is  to 
say,  a  distance  equal  to  that  from  Lisbon  to  Cherson, 
The  river  of  Yaqui,  or  Sonora,  has  a  course  of 
considerable  length.  It  takes  its  rise  in  the  western 
declivity  of  the  Sierra  Maclre,  of  which  the  crest,  by 
no  means  ver}'  elevated,  passes  between  Arispe  and 
tlie  Presidio  de  Fronteras.  The  small  port  of  Guay- 
mas  is  situated  near  its  mouth. 

The  most  northern  part  of  the  intendancy  of  So- 
nora bears  the  name  of  Pimeria^  on  account  of  a  nu- 
merous tribe  of  Pimas  Indians  who  inhabit  it.  These 
Indians,  for  the  most  part,  live  under  the  domination 
of  the  missionary  monks,  and  follow  the  catholic 
ritual.  The  Pimeria  alta  is  distinguished  from  the 
Pimeria  baxa.  The  latter  contains  the  Presidio  de 
Buenavista.  The  former  extendsfrom  the  military 
post  {presidio)  of  Temate  to  the  Rio  Gila.  This 
hilly  country  of  the  Pimeria  alta  is  the  Choco  of 
North  America.  All  the  ravins  and  even  plains  con- 
tain gold  scattered  up  and  down  the  alluvions  land. 
Pepitas  of  pure  gold  of  the  weight  of  from  two  to 
three  kilogrammes*  have  been  found  there.  But 
these  lavaderos  are  by  no  means  diligently  sought 
after  on  account  of  the  frequent  incursions  of  the  in- 
dependent Indians,  and  especially  on  account  of  the 
high  price  of  provisions,  which  must  be  brought  from 
a  great  distance  in  this  uncultivated  country.  Farther 
north,  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Rio  de  la  Ascencion, 
live  a  very  warlike  race  of  Indians,  the  Seiis^  to  whom 
several  Mexican  savans  attribute  an  Asiatic  origin,  on 
account  of  the  analogy  between  their  name  and  that  of 
the  Seri,  placed  by  ancient  geographers  at  the  foot  of 
the  mountains  of  Ottorocorras  to  the  east  of  Scythia 
extra  Imaum. 

*From     M.  2oz.  2dr.  2scr.  Sgr.}  t,  -r  „„„ 

To       8        0        4  0  12     ^^'">-      ^'''"'- 


204  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  ni: 

ANALYSIS.    3  ^^h  Intendancy  of  Sonora. 

There  has  been  hitherto  no  permanent  communi- 
cation between  Sonora,  New  Mexico,  and  New  Cali- 
fornia, although  the  court  of  Madrid  has  frequently 
given  orders  for  the  formation  of  presidios  and  mis- 
sions between  the  Rio  Gila  and  the  Rio  Colorado. 
The  extravagant  military  expedition  of  Don  Joseph 
Gaivez  did  not  serve  to  establish  in  a  permanent  man- 
ner the  northern  limits  of  the  intendancy  of  Sonora. 
Two  courageous  and  enterprising  monks,  fathers 
Garces  and  Font,  were  able,  however,  to  go  by  land 
through  the  countries  inhabited  by  independent  In- 
dians from  the  missions  of  la  Pimeria  alta  to  Monte- 
rey, and  even  to  the  port  of  San  Francisco,  without 
crosshig  the  peninsula  of  Old  California.  This  bold 
enterprise,  on  which  the  college  of  the  propaganda  at 
■  Queretaro  published  an  interesting  notice,  has  also 
furnished  new  information  relative  to  the  ruins  of  la 
Casa  grande^  considered  by  the  Mexican  historians"* 
as  the  abode  of  the  Aztecs  on  their  arrival  at  the  Rio 
Gila  towards  the  end  of  the  twelfth  century. 

Father  Francisco  Garces,  accompanied  by  Father 
Font,t  who  was  intrusted  with  the  observations  of  la- 
titude, set  out  from  the  Presidio  d'Horcasitas  on  the 
20lh  April,  1773.     After  a  journey  of  eleven  days, 

*  Clavigero,  i.  p.  159. 

t  Chronica  Serajica  de  el  Colegio  de  Profiagando  fcde  de 
Queretaro,  fior  Fray  Domingo  Arricivitor,  Mexico,  \792,toin. 
ii.  p.  396.  426.  and  462.  This  Chronica,  which  forms  a  large 
folio  volume  of  600  pages,  is  well  deserving  of  an  extract 
being  made  from  it.  It  contains  very  accurate  geographical 
notions  as  to  the  Indian  tribes  inhabiting  California,  Sonora, 
the  Mocfdi,  Nabajoa,  and  the  banks  of  the  Rio  Gila.  I  could 
not  learn  what  sort  of  astronomical  instrumerits  Fatiier  Font 
made  use  of  in  his  excursions  to  the  Rio  Colorado,  between 
\77\  and  1776.  lam  afraid  lost  it  sliould  have  been  a  solar 
vine. 


CHAP,  viii.l        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  205 

^Y^?AL\'sis'/i  ^"-  I^'i^^^dancy  of  Sonora. 

they  arrived  at  a  vast  and  beautiful  plain  one  league's 
distance  from  the  southern  bank  of  the  Rio  Gila. 
They  there  discovered  the  ruins  of  an  ancient  x\ztec 
city,  in  the  midst  of  which  is  the  editice  called  la 
Casa  grande.  These  ruins  occupy  a  spac  e  of  p:round 
of  more  than  a  square  league.  The  Casa  grande  is 
exactly  laid  down  according  to  the  four  carciinal 
points,  having  from  north  to  south  136  metres*  in 
length,  and  from  east  to  west  84  metresf  in  breadth. 
It  is  constructed  of  clay,  (tapia.)  The  pisesX  '^^^  of 
an  unequal  size,  but  symmetrically  placed.  The 
wails  are  12  decimetres)  in  thickness.  We  perceive 
that  this  edifice  had  three  stories  and  a  terrace.  The 
stair  was  on  the  outside,  and  probably  of  wood.  The 
same  kind  of  construction  is  still  to  be  found  in  all 
the  villages  of  the  independent  Indians  of  the  Moqui 
west  from  New  Mexico.  We  perceive  in  the  Casa 
grande  five  apartments,  of  which  each  is  8'''.  3  in 
length,  3"\  3  in  breadth,  and  S"^.  5  in  height. ||  A 
wall,  interrupted  by  large  towers,  surrounds  the 
principal  edifice,  and  appears  to  have  served  to  de- 
fend it.  Father  Garces  discovered  the  vestiges  of  an 
artificial  canal,  which  brought  the  water  of  the  Rio 
Gila  to  the  town.  The  whole  surrounding  plain  is 
covered  with  broken  earthen  pitchers  and  pots, 
prettily  painted  in  white,  red,  and  blue.  W^e  also 
find  amidst  these  fragments  of  Mexican  stone  ware 

*  445  feet.      Trans.  f  276  feet.      Traris. 

\  Pise  has  no  equivalent,  it  is  believed,  in  our  langnap;e.  It 
signifies  the  case  in  which  the  clay  is  rammed  down  in  the 
construction  of  a  clay  wall.  This  mode  of  building  has  been 
adopted  on  the  Duke  of  Bedford's  estate.     Trans. 

§  3  feet  1 1  inches.     Trims. 

II  27.18  feet,    10.82  feet,  and  11.48  feet.      'Trans. 


206  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  in. 

^ANALYSlS^^j^II-  Inteiidancy  of  Sonora, 

pieces  of  obsidian,  (itztli,)  a  very  curious  phenome- 
non, because  it  proves  that  the  Aztecs  passed  through 
some  unknown  northern  country  which  contains  this 
volcanic  substance,  and  that  it  was  not  the  abundance 
of  obsidian  in  New  S])ain  which  suggested  the  idea 
of  razors  and  arms  of  itztH.  We  must  not,  how- 
ever, confound  the  ruins  of  this  city  of  the  Gila, 
the  centre  of  an  ancient  civilization  of  the  Ameri- 
cans, with  the  Casas  gra?ides  of  New  Biscay,  situ- 
ated between  the  presidio  of  Yanos  and  that  of  San 
Buenaventura.  The  latter  are  pointed  out  by  the  in- 
digenous, on  the  very  vague  supposition  that  the  Az- 
tec nation  in  their  migration  from  Aztlan  to  Tula 
and  the  valley  of  Tenochtitlan  made  three  stations ; 
the  first  near  the  lake  Teguyo,  (to  the  south  of  the 
fabulous  city  of  Quivira,  the  Mexican  Dorado  !) 
the  second  at  the  Rio  Gila,  and  the  third  in  the  envi- 
rons of  Yanos. 

The  Indians  who  live  in  the  plains  adjoining  the 
Casas  grandes  of  the  Rio  Gila,  and  who  have  never 
had'the  smallest  communication  with  the  inhabitants 
of  Sonora,  deserve  by  no  means  the  appellation  of 
Indios  bravo,';.  Their  social  civilization  forms  a  sin- 
gular contrast  with  the  state  of  the  savages  who  wan- 
der along  the  banks  of  the  Missouri  and  other  parts 
of  Canada.  Fathers  Garces  and  Font  found  the  In- 
dians to  the  south  of  the  Rio  Gila  clothed  and  as- 
sembled together,  to  the  number  of  two  or  three 
thousand,  in  villages  which  they  call  Uturicut  and 
Sutaquisan,  where  they  peaceably  cultivate  the  soil. 
They  saw  fields  sown  with  maize,  cotton,  and 
i^ourds.  The  missionaries,  in  order  to  bring  about 
the  conversion  of  these  Indians,  showed  them  a  pic- 
ture painted  on  a  large  piece  of  cotton  cloth,  in  which 
u  sinner  was  represented  burning  in    the   flames  of 

5 


CHAP.  VIII.]  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  207 

^^ASMAsit  ^]  ^^I-  If^teiularwy  of  Sotwra. 

hell.  The  picture  terrified  them  ;  and  they  entreat- 
ed Father  Garces  not  to  unrol  it  any  more,  nor  speak 
to  them  of  \vhat  w  ould  happen  alter  death.  These 
Indians  are  of  a  gende  and  sincere  character.  Father 
Font  explained  to  them  by  an  interpreter  the  security 
which  prevailed  in  the  Christian  missions,  where  an 
Indian  alcalde  administered  justice.  The  chief  of 
Uturicut  replied  :  "  This  order  of  things  may  be  ne- 
cessary ibr  you.  We  do  not  steal,  and  we  very  sel- 
dom disagree ;  what  use  have  we  then  for  an  alcalde 
among  us  '?"  The  civilization  to  be  found  among  the 
Indians  when  we  approach  the  north-west  coast  of 
America,  from  the  So"*  to  the  54o  of  latitude,  is  a 
very  striking  phenomenon,  which  cannot  but  throw 
some  light  on  the  history  of  the  first  migrations  of 
the  Mexican  nations. 

There  are  reckoned  in  the  province  of  Sonoraone 
city,  {ciiidady)  Arispe ;  two  towns,  {villas,)  viz.  So- 
nora  and  Hostemuri ;  46  villages,  (piiebios,)  15  pa- 
rishes, [paroquias.,)  43  missions,  20  farms,  [hacien- 
das,] and  25  cottages,  {ranchos.) 

The  province  of  Cinaloa  contains  five  towns,  (Cu- 
liacan,  Cinaloa,  el  Rosario,  el  Fuerte,  and  los  Ala- 
mos,) 92  villages,  30  parishes,  14  haciendas,  and  450 
ranchos. 

In  1793,  the  number  of  tributary  Indians  in  the 
province  of  Sonora  amounted  only  to  251,  while 
in  the  province  of  Cinaloa  they  amounted  to  1,851. 
This  last  province  was  more  anciently  peopled  than 
the  former. 

The  most  remarkable  places  of  the  intendancy  of 
Sonora  are  : 

Arispe,  the  residence  of  the  intendant,  to  the  south 
and  west  of  the  presidios  of  Bacuachi  and  Bavispe* 


208  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  hi; 

STATISTICAL  ^  vn     T  *      i  /•  o 

ANALYSIS.    3  "^^■^'  J-ntendancy  oj  oonora. 

Persons  who  accompanied  M.  Galvez  in  his  expedi- 
tion to  Sonera  affirni,  that  the  mission  of  Ures,  near 
Pitic,  would  have  answered  much  better  than  Arispc 
for  the  capital  of  the  intendancy.  Population, 
7,600. 

Sonora,  south  from  Arispe,  and  N.  E.  from  the 
presidio  of  Horcasitas.     Population,  6,400. 

Hostimuri,  a  small  town  well  peopled,  surround- 
ed with  considerable  mines. 

Culiacan,  celebrated  in  the  Mexican  history  under 
the  name  of  Hueicolhuacan.  The  population  is  es- 
timated at  10,800. 

Cinaloa,  called  also  the  Fil/a  de  San  Felipe  y  San- 
tiago, east  from  the  port  of  Santa  Maria  d\iome. 
Population,  9,500. 

£1  Rosario,  near  the  rich  mines  of  Copala.  Po- 
pulation, 5,600. 

Filla  del  Fuerte,  or  Montesclaros,  to  the  north  of 
Cinaloa.     Population,  7,900. 

Los  Alamos,  between  the  Rio  del  Fuerte  and  the 
Rio  Mayo,  the  residence  of  a  diputacion  de  Mineria, 
Population,  7,900. 


^ 


CHAP,  vni.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN. 


209 


STATISTICAL 
ANALYSIS. 

Population 
in 

1803. 

Extent  of 

Surface  in 

square 

Leiigucs. 

No.  of  Inhabit- 
ants to  till 

s(iuare  League. 

XIII.  Province  of 
Nuevo  Mexico. 

I 

40,200 

5,709 

7 

Several  geographers  confound  New  Mexico 
with  the  Provincias  internas  ;  and  they  speak  ot  it  as 
a  country  rich  in  mines,  and  of  v^st  extent.  The 
celebrated  author  of  the  philosophic  history  of  the 
European  establishments  in  the  two  Indies  has  con- 
tributed to  propagate  this  error.  What  he  calls  the 
empire  of  New  Mexico  is  merely  a  coast  inhabited 
by  a  few  poor  colonists.  It  is  a  fertile  territory,  but 
very  thinly  inhabited,  and  destitute,  as  is  universally 
believed,  of  metallic  wealth,  extending  along  the 
Rio  del  Norte,  from  the  31°  to  the  3S'^  of  north  la- 
titude. This  province  is  from  south  to  north  175 
leagues  in  length,  and  from  east  to  west  from  30  to 
50  leagues  in  breadth ;  and  its  territorial  extent, 
therefore,  is  much  less  than  people  of  no  great  in- 
formation in  geographical  matters  are  apt  to  snpijose 
even  in  that  country.  The  national  vanity  of  the 
Spaniards  loves  to  magnify  the  spaces,  aiid  to  re- 
move, if  not  in  reality,  at  least  in  imagination,  the 
limits  of  the  country  occupied  by  them  to  as  great  a 
distance  as  possible.  In  the  memoirs  which  I  pro- 
cured on  the  position  of  the  Mexican  mines,  the  dis- 
tance from  Arispe  to  the  Rosario  is  estimated  at  300, 
and  from  Arispe  to  Copula  at  4!  0  marine  leagu  s, 
without  reflecting  that  the  whole  intendancy  of  So- 
nera is  not  280  marine  leagues  in  length.     From  the 

VOL.  II.  »  d 


210  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  hi'. 

^^Ynalysl^^IX^"-  Province  of  Nuevo  Mexico. 

same  cause,  and  especially  for  the  sake  of  concilia- 
ting the  favour  of  the  court,  the  conquistador es^  the 
missionary  monks,  and  the  first  colonists,  gave 
weighty  names  to  small  things.  We  have  already 
described  one  kingdom,  that  of  Leon,  of  which  the 
whole  population  does  not  equal  the  number  of  Fran- 
ciscan monks  in  Spain.  Sometimes  a  few  collected 
huts  take  the  pompous  title  of  villa.  A  cross  plant- 
ed in  the  forests  of  Guyana  figures  on  the  maps  of 
the  missions  sent  to  Madrid  and  Rome,  as  a  village 
inhabited  by  Indians.  It  is  only  after  living  long  in 
the  Spanish  colonies,  and  after  examining  more  nar- 
rowly these  fictions  of  kingdoms,  towns,  and  vil- 
lages, that  the  traveller  can  form  a  proper  scale  for 
the  reduction  of  objects  to  their  just  value. 

The  Spanish  conquerors  shortly  after  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  Aztec  empire,  set  on  foot  solid  esta- 
blishments in  the  north  of  Anahuac.  The  town  of 
Durango  was  founded  under  the  administration  of 
the  second  viceroy  of  New  Spain,  Velasco  el  PrimerOy 
in  lo59.  It  was  then  a  military  post  against  the  in- 
cursions  of  the  Chichimec  Indians.  Towards  the 
end  of  the  16th  century,  the  viceroy.  Count  de  Mon- 
terey, sent  the  valorous  */w<-//z  de  Onate  to  New 
Mexico.  It  was  this  general  who,  after  driving  off 
the  wandering  Indians,  peopled  the  banks  of  the 
great  Rio  del  Norte. 

From  the  town  of  Chihuahua  a  carriage  can  go 
to  Santa  Fe  of  New  Mexico.  A  sort  of  caleche  is 
generally  used,  which  the  Catalonians  call  volantes. 
The  road  is  beautiful  and  level ;  and  it  passes  along 
the  eastern  bank  of  the  great  ri^^r,  {Rio  grande,) 
which  is  crossed  at  the  Passo  del  Norte.  The  banks 
of  the  river  are  extremely  picturesque,  and  are  adorn- 


CHAP,  viii.]  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  211 

^  ANALYS^S^^l  ^^f"-  ^fovincc  ofNaevo  Mexico. 

ed  with  beautiful  poplars,  and  other  trees  peculiar  to 
the  temperate  zone. 

It  is  remarkable  enough  to  see  that,  after  the  lapse 
of  two  centuries  of  colonization,  the  province  of  New 
Mexico  does  not  yet  join  the  intendancy  of  New 
Biscay.  The  two  pro\'inces  are  separated  by  a  de- 
sert, in  which  travellers  are  sometimes  attacked  by 
the  Cumanches  Indians.  This  desert  extends  from 
the  Passo  del  Norte  towards  the  town  of  Albu- 
querque. Before  1680,  in  Avhich  year  there  was  a 
general  revolt,  among  the  Indians  of  New  Mexico, 
this  extent  of  uncultivated  and  uninhabited  country 
was  much  less  considerable  than  it  is  now.  There 
were  then  three  villages,  San  Pascual,  Semillette, 
and  Socorro,  which  were  situated  between  the  marsh 
of  the  Muerto  and  the  town  of  Santa  Fe.  Bishop 
Tamaron  perceived  the  ruins  of  them  in  1760,  and 
he  found  apricots  growing  wild  in  the  fields,  an  in^ 
dication  of  the  former  cultivation  of  the  country. 
The  two  most  dangerous  points  for  travellers  are,  the 
defile  of  Robledo,  west  from  the  Rio  del  Norte,  op- 
posite the  Sierra  de  Dona  Ana,  and  the  desert  of  the 
Muerto,  where  many  whites  have  been  assassinated 
by  wandering  Indians. 

The  desert  of  the  Muerto  is  a  plain  thirty  leagues 
in  length,  destitute  of  water.  The  whole  of  this 
country  is  in  general  of  an  alarming  state  of  aridity  ; 
for  the  mountains  de  los  Majisos^  situated  to  the  east 
of  the  road  from  Durango  to  Santa  Fe,  do  not  give 
rise  to  a  single  brook.  Notwithstanding  the  mild- 
ness of  the  climate,  and  the  progress  of  industry,  a 
great  part  of  diis  country,  as  well  as  Old  California, 
and  several  districts  of  New  Biscay,  and  die  inten- 
dancy of  Guadalaxara,  will  never  admit  of  any  con- 
siderable population. 


212  POLITICAL  ESSAY  OK  THE  [book  hi; 

ANALYSIS.   5^111.   Province  of  Nuevo  Mexico » 

New  Mexico,  although  under  the  same  latitude 
with  Syria  and  central  Persia,  has  a  remarkably  cold 
climate.  It  freezes  there  in  the  middle  of  May. 
Near  S.mta  Fe,  and  a  little  farther  north,  (under  the 
parallel  of  the  Morea,)  the  Rio  del  Norte  is  sometimes 
covered,  for  a  succession  of  several  years,  with  ice 
thick  enough  to  admit  the  passage  of  horses  and  car- 
riages. We  are  ignorant  of  the  elev;'.tion  of  the  soil 
of  the  province  of  New  Mexico ;  but  I  do  not  be- 
lieve that,  under  the  37"  of  latitude,  the  bed  of  the 
river  is  more  than  7  or  800  metres*  of  elevation 
above  the  level  of  the  ocean.  The  mountains  which 
bound  the  valley  of  the  Rio  del  Norte,  and  even 
those  at  the  foot  of  which  the  village  of  Taos  is  si- 
tuated, lose  their  snow  towards  the  beginning  of  the 
month  of  June. 

The  great  river  of  the  norths  as  we  have  already 
observv-d,  rises  in  the  Sierra  Verde,  which  is  the 
point  of  separation  between  the  streams  which  flow 
into  the  gulf  of  Mexico,  and  those  which  flow  into 
the  South  Sea.  It  has  its  periodical  rises  (crecientes) 
like  the  Orinoco,  the  Mississippi,  and  a  great  num- 
ber of  rivers  of  both  continents.  The  waters  of  the 
Rio  del  Norte  begin  to  swell  in  the  month  of  April ; 
thev  are  at  their  height  in  the  beginning  of  May  ;  and 
they  fall  towards  the  end  of  Juae.  The  inhabitants 
can  only  ford  the  river  on  horses  of  an  extraordinary 
size  during  the  drought  of  summer,  when  the 
strength  of  the  current  is  greatly  diminished.  These 
horses  in  Peru  are  called  cavallos  chimbadores.  Seve- 
ral persons  mount  at  once  ;  and  if  the  horse  takes 
footing  occasionally  in  swimming,  this  mode  of  pass- 
ing the  river  is  cdWtd. passar  elrio  a  volnpie^ 

*  2,296  or  3,621  feet.      Trana 


CHAP.viii.]  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  213 

^^An:alyIus.^5  ^I"-  Province  ofNiievo  Mexico. 

The  water  of  the  Rio  del  Norte,  like  that  of  the 
Orinoco,  and  all  the  great  rivers  of  South  America, 
is  extremely  muddy.  In  New  Biscay  they  consider 
a  small  river,  called  Rio  Puerco,  {nasty  river,)  the 
mouth  of  which  lies  south  from  the  to-.vn  of  Albu- 
querque, near  Valencia,  as  the  cause  of  tliis  pheno- 
menon ;  but  M.  Tamaron  observed  that  its  waters 
Avere  muddy  far  above  Santa  Fe  and  the  town  of 
Taos.  'I'he  inhabitants  of  the  Passo  del  Norte  have 
preserved  the  recollection  of  a  very  extraordinary 
event  which  took  place  in  1752.  The  whole  bed  of 
the  river  became  dry  all  of  a  sudden  for  more  than 
thirty  leagues  above,  and  twenty  leagues  below  the 
Passo ;  and  the  water  of  the  river  precipitated  itself 
into  a  newly  formed  chasm,  and  only  made  its  reap- 
pearance near  the  Presidio  de  San  Eleazario.  This 
loss  of  the  Rio  del  Norte  remained  for  a  considerable 
time ;  the  fine  plains  which  surround  the  Passo,  and 
which  are  intersected  with  small  canals  of  irrigation, 
remained  without  water ;  and  the  inhabitants  dug 
wells  in  the  sand,  with  wh-ch  the  bed  of  the  river  was 
filled.  At  length,  after  the  lapse  of  several  weeks, 
the  water  resumed  its  ancient  course,  no  doubt  be- 
cause the  chasm  and  the  subterraneous  conductors 
had  filled  up.  This  phenomenon  bears  some  ana- 
logy to  a  fact  which  I  was  told  by  the  Indians  of  Jaen 
de  Bracamorros  during  my  stay  at  Tomependa.  In 
the  beginning  of  the  eiy-hteenth  century,  the  inha- 
bitants of  the  village  of  Puyaya  saw,  to  their  great 
terror  and  astonishment,  the  bed  of  the  river  Ama- 
zons completely  dried  up  for  several  hours.  A  part 
of  the  rocks  near  the  cataract  ( pongc)  of  R  ntema 
had  fallen  down  through  an  earihouake  ;  and  the 
waters  of  the  Marugnon  had  sioy^  in  their 
course  till   they  could    get  over  the  dike  formed 


214  POLITICAL  ES-^AY  ON  THE  [book  m. 

TATIST] 
ANALY; 


STATISTICAL  j  XIII.  Province  of  jYuevo  Mexico. 


by  the  fall.  In  the  northern  part  of  New  Mexico, 
near  Taos,  and  to  the  north  of  that  city,  rivers  take 
their  rise  which  run  into  the  Mississippi.  The  Rio 
de  Pv^cos  is  probably  the  same  with  the  Red  River  of 
the  Natchitoches,  and  the  Rio  Napestla  is,  perhaps, 
the  same  river  which,  farther  east,  takes  the  name  of 
Arkansas. 

The  colonists  of  this  province,  known  for  their 
great  energy  of  character,  live  in  a  state  of  perpe- 
tual warfare  with  the  neighbouring  Indians.  It  is  on 
account  of  this  insecurity  of  the  country  life,  that  we 
find  the  towns  more  populoj.13  than  we  should  expect 
in  so  desert  a  country.  The  situation  of  the  inha- 
bitants of  New  Ivlexico  bears,  in  many  respects,  a 
great  resemblance  to  that  of  the  jjcople  of  Europe 
during  the  middie  ages.  So  long  as  insulation  ex- 
poses men  to  personal  danger,  we  can  hope  for  the 
establishment  of  no  equilibrium  between  the  popu- 
lation of  towns  and  that  of  die  country. 

However,  the  Indians  who  live  on  an  intimate 
footing  with  the  Spanish  colonists,  are  b}^  no  means 
all  equally  barbarous.  Those  of  the  cabt  are  war- 
like, and  wander  about  from  place  to  place.  If  they 
carry  on  any  commerce  with  the  whites,  it  is  fre- 
quently without  personal  intercourse,  and  according 
to  principles  of  v/hich  some  traces  are  to  be  found 
among  some  of  the  tribes  of  Africa.  The  savages, 
in  their  excursions  to  the  north  of  the  Bolson  de  Ma- 
pimi,  plant  along  the  road  between  Chihuahua  and 
Santa  Fe  small  crosses,  to  which  they  suspend  a 
leathern  pocket,  w'lih.  a  piece  of  stag  flesh.  At  the 
foot  of  the  cross  a  buffalo's  hide  is  stretched  out. 
The  Indian  indicates  by  these  signs  that  he  wishes  to 
cirry  on  a  commerce  of  baiter  with  those  who  adore 
the  cross.     He  olicrs  the  christian  traveller  a  hide  for 

5 


CHAP,  viii]  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  215 

tatist: 

ANALY: 


^\nalys?s^^1  ^I"-  ^'-ovince  of  Nuevo  Mexico. 


provisions,  of  which  he  docs  not  fix  the  quantity. 
The  soldiers  of  the  presidios^  \\  ho  understand  llic  lii- 
eroglyphical  language  of  the  Indians,  take  away  the 
buffalo  hide,  and  leave  some  salted  flesh  at  the  foot  of 
the  cross.*  This  system  of  commerce  indicates  at 
once  an  extraordinaiy  mixture  of  good  faith  and  dis- 
trust. 

The  Indians  to  the  west  of  the  Rio  del  Norte,  be- 
tween the  rivers  Gila  and  Colorado,  form  a  contrast 
with  the  wandering  and  distrustful  Indians  of  the  sa- 
vannas to  the  east  of  New  Mexico.  Father  Garces 
is  one  of  the  latest  missionaries  who,  in  1773,  visit- 
ed the  country  of  the  Moqid^  watered  by  the  Rio  de 
Yaquesila.  He  was  astonished  to  find  there  an  In- 
dian town  with  two  great  squares,  houses  of  several 
'  stories,  and  streets  well  laid  out,  and  parallel  to  one 
another.  Every  evening  the  people  assembled  toge- 
ther on  the  terraces,  of  which  the  roofs  of  the  houses 
are  formed.  The  construction  of  the  edifices  of  the 
Moqui  is  the  same  with  that  of  the  Casas  grandes  on 
the  banks  of  the  Rio  Gila,  of  which  we  have  already 
spoken.  The  Indians  u  ho  inhabit  the  northern  part 
of  New  Mexico  give  also  a  considerable  elevation 
to  their  houses,  fbr  the  sake  of  discovering  the  ap- 
proach of  their  enemies.  Every  thing  in  these  coun- 
tries appears  to  announce  traces  of  the  cultivation  of 
the  ancient  Mexicans.  We  are  informed,  even  by 
the  Indian  traditions,  that  twenty  leagues  north  from 
the  Moqui,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Zaguananas, 
the  banks  of  the  Nabajoa  were  the  first  abode  of  the 
Aztecs  after  their  departure  from  Aztlan. '  On  con- 
sidering the  civ  ilization  which  exists  on  several  points 
of  the  north-west  coast  of  America,  in  the  Moqui, 

*  Diario  del  li/mo.   Senor  Tainaron,  (MS.) 


21$  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [bookiii. 

^YNAL™s^^i  ^I"-  Province  of  JVuevo  Mexico, 

and  on  the  banks  of  the  Gila,  we  are  tempted  to  be- 
lieve (and  I  venture  to  repeat  it  here)  that  at  the  period 
of  the  migration  of  the  Toultecs,  the  Acolhues,  and 
the  Aztecs,  several  tribes  separated  from  the  great 
mass  of  the  people  to  establish  themselves  in  these 
northern  regions.  However,  the  language  spoken  by 
the  Indians  of  the  Moqui,  the  Yabipais,  who  wear 
long  beards,  and  those  who  inhabit  the  plains  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  Rio  Colorado,  is  essentially  different* 
from  the  Mexican  language. 

In  the  17th  century  several  missionaries  of  the  or- 
der of  St.  Francis  established  themselves  among  the 
Indians  of  the  Moqui  and  Nabajoa,  who  were  massa- 
cred in  the  great  revolt  of  the  Indians  in  1680.  I 
have  seen  in  manuscript  maps  drawn  up  before  that 
period,  the  name  of  the  Prov'mcia  del  Moqui. 

The  province  of  New  Mexico  contains  three  villas^ 
(Santa  Fe,  Santa  Cruz  de  la  Canada  y  Taos,  and  Al- 
buquerque y  Alameda,)  26  pueblos^  or  villages,  3 
parroquias^  or  parishes,  1 9  missions,  and  no  solitary 
farm,  (ranc/io.) 

Santa  Fe,  the  capital,  to  the  east  of  the  great  Rio 
del  Norte.     Population,  3,600. 

Albuquerque,  opposite  the  village  of  Atrisco,  to  the 
west  of  the  Sierra  Obscura.     Population,  6,000. 

Taos,  placed  in  the  old  maps  62  leagues  too  far 
north  under  the  40"  of  latitude.    Population,  8,900. 

Passo  del  jYoi'fe,  presidio  or  military  post  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  Rio  del  Norte,  separated  from  the 
town  of  Santa  Fe  by  an  uncultivated  coiuitry  of  more 
than  60  leagues  in  length.     We  nui3t  not  confound 

*  See  the  testimony  of  several  missionary  monks  well  versed 
in  the  knowledge  of  the  Aztec  lan;^uag;e.  {Chronica  Serafica 
del  Colcii'io  de  Qn^rffar'i,  p.   108.) 


CUAP.  vui]         KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  217 

STATISTICAL  7,- TTT     n  r  \'  vr 

ANALYSIS;    i  -^^lll•  Province  oj  JSuevo  Jicxico, 

this  place,  which  some  manuscript  maps  in  the  ar- 
chives of  Mexico  consider  as  a  dependance  of  New 
Biscay,  with  the  Presidio  del  A'orte,  or  de  las  Juntas^ 
situated  further  to  the  souih,  at  the  moulh  of  the  Rio 
Conchos.  Tra\ellers  stop  at  the  Passo  del  Norte  to 
lay  in  the  necessary  provisions  for  continuing  their 
route  to  Santa  Fe.  The  environs  of  the  Passo  arc 
<ielicious,  and  resemble  the  finest  parts  of  Andalu- 
sia. The  fields  are  cultivated  with  maize  and  wlicat, 
and  tlie  vineyards  produce  such  excellent  sweet 
wines,  that  they  are  even  preferred  to  the  wines  of 
Parras  in  New  Biscay.  The  gardens  contain  in 
abundance  all  the  fruits  of  Europe,  figs,  peaches, 
apples  and  pears.  As  the  country  is  very  dry,  a 
canal  of  irrigation  brings  the  water  of  the  Rio  del 
Norte  to  the  Passo.  It  is  with  difl^culty  that  the  in- 
habitants of  the  presidio  can  keep  up  the  dam,  wliich 
forces  the  waters  of  the  rivers  when  they  are  very  low 
to  enter  into  the  canal,  [azequia.)  During  the  great 
swells  of  the  Rio  del  Norte,  the  strength  of  the  cur- 
rent destroys  this  dam  almost  every  year  in  the  months 
of  May  and  June.  The  manner  of  restoring  and 
strengthening  the  dam  is  very  ingenious.  The  inha- 
bitants form  baskets  of  stakes,  connected  togetlier 
by  branches  of  trees,  and  filled  with  earth  and  stones. 
These  gabions  (cestones)  are  abandoned  to  the  force 
of  the  current,  which  in  its  eddies  disposes  them  in 
^e  point  ^^  here  the  canal  separates  from  the  river. 


VOL.  II.  E  e 


218 


POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE 


[book  lit. 


STATISTICAL 
ANALYSIS. 

Population 

in 

1803. 

Extent  of 
Surface  in 

square 
Leagues. 

No.  of  Iiihahit- 

aals  to  Uk- 
square  Lengue. 

XIV.  Province  of 
Old  California. 

9,000 

7,295 

t 

The  history  of  geography  affords  several  exam- 
ples of  countries  of  which  the  position  was  known- 
to  the  first  navigators,  but  which  were  long  regarded 
as  having  only  been  discovered  at  more  recent  cpo- 
quas.  Such  arc  the  Sandwich  Islands,  the  west 
coast  of  New  Holland,  the  great  Cyclades,  formerly 
called  by  Quiros  the  Archipelago  del  Espiritu  Santo, 
the  land  of  the  Arsacides  seen  by  Mendana,  and 
particularly  the  coast  of  California.  This  last  coun- 
try was  recognised  as  a  peninsula  before  the  year 
1541 ;  and  yet  160  years  later  the  merit  was  attri- 
buted to  Father  £^uh?2  (Kino)  of  having  first  proved 
that  California  was  not  an  island,  and  that  it  was  con- 
nected with  the  main  land  of  Mexico. 

Cortez,  after  astonishing  the  world  with  his  ex- 
ploits on  the  continent,  displayed  an  energy  of  cha- 
lacter  no  less  admirable  in  his  maritime  undertakingSi 
Restless,  ambitious,  and  tormented  with  the  idea  of 
seeing  the  country  which  his  courage  had  conquered 
at  one  time  under  the  administration  of  a  corregidor 
of  Toledo,  and  at  another,  of  a  president  of  the  au- 
diencia,  or  a  bishop  of  St.  Domingo,*  he  gave  him- 
self completely   up  to  expeditions  of  discovery  in 


*  The  con  epidor,  Luis  Ponce  .de  Leon  ;  the  president. 
Xuno  de  Guzman  j  and  the  bishop,  Sebabiian  Ramirez  de 
Fuenleal. 


CHAP.  VIII.]     KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  219 

^anT\LYS?s^^1XIV.  Province  of  Old  California. 

the  South  Sea.  He  seemed  to  forget  that  the  powci-- 
i\il  enemies  whicli  he  had  at  court  wcie  merely  slir- 
red  up  by  the  magnitude  and  rapidily  of  his  suc- 
cesses, and  he  flattered  himself  that  he  would  compel 
them  to  silence  by  the  brilliancy  of  the  new  career 
which  opened  to  his  activity.  On  the  other  hand,  tlic 
government,  which  distrusted  a  man  of  such  extraor- 
dinary merit,  encouraged  him  in  his  design  of  tra- 
\'ersing  the  ocean.  Believing  tiiat  after  the  conquest 
of  Mexico  his  military  talents  were  no  longer  needed, 
the  emperor  was  very  well  pleased  to  see  him  plun- 
ged in  hazardous  enterjirises ;  and  he  was  purti  • 
Gularly  desirous  of  seeing  him  removed  to  a  distance 
from  the  theatre  \vhere  liis  courage  and  audacity  had 
already  shone  so  conspicuously. 

So  early  as  1523,  Charle.--  V.  in  a  letter  dated 
from  Valladolid,  recommended  to  Cortez  to  seek  on 
the  eastern  and  western  coasts  of  New  Spain  for  the 
secret  of  a  strait,  (el  secreto  del  est'  echo,)  which 
should  shorten  bv  two  thirds  the  navigation  from 
Cadiz  to  the  East  Indies,  then  called  the  Country  of 
SjAces.  Cortez,  in  his  answer  to  the  emperor,  speaks 
with  the  greatest  enthusiasm  of  the  probability  of  this 
discovery,  "  which,"  he  adds,  *'  will  render  your 
majesty  master  of  so  many  kingdoms  that  you  will 
be  considered  as  the  monarch  of  the  whole  world."* 
It  was  in  the  course  of  one  of  these  navigations,  un- 
dertaken at  the  particular  expense  of  Cortez,  that 
tlie  coast  of  California  was  discovered  by  Hernando 
de  Grixalva  in  the  month  of  February,  I534.f     His 

*  Cartes  de  Cortez,  p.  374.  382.  335. 

t  T  found  in  a  manuscript  preserved  in  the  archives  of  the 
viceroyalty  of  Mexico,  that  California  was  discovered  in  1526, 
I  know  not  on  what  authoiily  this  assertion  is  founded.    Cor- 


220  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  iii- 

^ANALYS?s^^lXIV.  Province  of  Old  California- 

pilot,  Fortun  Ximenez,  was  killed  by  the  Califor- 
nians  in  the  bay  of  Santa  Cruz,  called  afterwards  the 
Port  de  la  Paz,  or  of  the  Marquis  del  Valie.  Discon- 
tented with  the  tediousness  and  unsuccessfulness  of 
discoveries  in  the  South  Sea,  Cortez  himself  em- 
barked in  1535  with  400  Spaniards  and  300  negro 
slaves  at  the  port  of  Chiametlan,  {Chametla.^  He 
coasted  both  sides  of  the  gulf,  then  known  by  the 
name  of  the  Sea  of  Cortez,  and  which  the  historian 
Gomara  compared  very  judiciously  in  1557  to  the 
Adriatic  Sea.  It  was  during  his  stay  at  the  bay  of 
Santa  Cruz  that  the  afflicting  news  reached  Cortez  of 
the  arrival  of  the  first  viceroy  at  New  Spain.  This 
great  conqueror  was  pursuing  with  unabated  ardour 
his  discoveries  in  California,  when  the  report  of  his 
death  was  spread  at  Mexico.  Juana  de  Zuniga,  his 
spouse,  fitted  out  two  vessels  and  a  caravele  to  learn 
the  truth  of  this  alarming  information.  However, 
Cortez,  after  running  a  thousand  dangers,  anchored 
safely  at  the  port  of  Acapulco.  He  continued  to 
pursue  at  his  own  expense,  through  Francisco  de 
Ulloa,  the  career  which  he  had  so  gloriously  begun ; 
and  Ulloa,  in  the  course  of  two  years,  ascertained 
the  coasts  of  the  gulf  of  California,  to  near  the  mouth 
of  the  Rio  Colorado. 

The  map  drawn  up  by  the  pilot  Castillo  at  Mexi- 
co in  1541,  which  we  have  already  several   times 

tez,  in  his  letters  to  the  emperor,  written  so  late  as  1524,  fre- 
quently speaks  of  the  pearls  which  were  found  near  the  islands 
of  the  South  Sea  ;  however,  the  extracts  made  by  the  author 
of  the  Relacion  del  Viageal  Estrecho  de  Fuca,  (p.  vii,  xxii.) 
froni  the  valuable  manuscripts  preserved  in  the  Academy  of 
History  at  Madrid,  seem  to  prove  that  California  had  not 
even  been  se^nin  the  expedition  of  Diego  Hurtado  de  Men-, 
dozain  1532. 


A 


CHAr.  villi        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  221 

STATISTlCAL|xiV.  Province  of  Old  CaVforma. 

cited,  represents  the  direction  of  the  coasts  of  the 
peninsuUi  of  California  nearly  as  we  know  them  at 
present.     Notwithstanding  this  progress  of  geogra- 
phy under  the  activity  of  Cortcz,  several  writers  under 
the  weak  reign  of  Charles  the  Second  began  to  con- 
sider  California   as  an  archipelago  of  great  islands 
called  Islas  Carol'mas.     The  pearl  fishery  only  drew 
from   time   to  time   a  few  vessels  from  the  ports  of 
Xalisco,   Acapulco,    or  Chacala ;    and    when    three 
Jesuits,  Fathers  Kiihn,  Saivatierra,  and  Uguarte,  visit- 
ed most  minutely  between  1701  and  1721  the  coasts 
which  surrounded  the  sea  of  Cortez,  [mar  roxo  h  ver- 
mejo,)  it  was  believed  in  Europe  to  have  been  disco- 
vered for  the  first  time  that  California  was  a  peninsula. 
The  more  imperfectly  any  country  is  known,  and 
the  farther  it  is  removed  from  the  best  peopled  Eu- 
ropean colonies,  it  more  easily  acquires  a  reputation 
for  great  metallic  wealth.     The   imaginations  of  men 
are  delighted  with  the  recitals  of  wonders  which  the 
credulity  or  the  cunning  of  the  first  travellers   deli- 
vers in  a  mysterious  and  ambiguous  tone.      On  the 
Caraccas  coast    the  wealth  of  the  countries   situa- 
ted between  the    Orinoco  and  the  Rio  Negro  are 
highly  extolled ;  at  Santa  Fe  we  hear  the  mission*^ 
of  the  Andaquies  incessantly  vaunted ;  and  at  Quito 
the  provinces  of  Macas  and  Maynos.     The  peninsula 
of  California  was  for  a  long  time  the  Dorado  of  New- 
Spain.     A  country  aboimding  in  pearls  ought,   ac- 
cording to  the  vulgtir  logic,  also  to  produce   gold, 
diamonds,  and  other  precious  stones  in  abundance. 
A  ii[ionkish  traveller,  Fray  Marcos  de  Nizza,  turned 
the  heads  of  the  Mexicans  by  the  febulous  accounts 
which  he  gave  of  the  beauty  of  the  country  situated 
to  the  north  of  the  gulf  of  California,  oi  the  magnifir 


222  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  in 

^ANALYSIS^^l^^^-  Province  of  Old  Canfornia, 

ocnce  of  the  town  of  Cibola,*  of  its  immense  popula- 
tion, and  of  its  police  and  the  civilization  of  its  inha- 
bitants. Cortez  and  the  viceroy  Mendoza  disputed 
beforehand  the  conquest  of  this  Mexican  Tombouctou. 
The  establishments  made  by  the  Jesuits  in  Calitornia 
since  1683  made  known  the  great  aridity  of  the 
Gountr}',  and  the  great  difficulty  of  bringing  it  under 
cultivation  ;  and  the  bad  success  which  attended  the 
mining  operations  at  Santa  Ana,  to  the  north  of  Cape 
.Pulmo,  diminished  the  enthusiasm  excited  by  the 
marvellous  accounts  of  the  metallic  wealth  of  the  pe- 
ninsula. But  the  grudge  and  the  hatred  entertahied 
against  the  Jesuits  gave  rise  to  the  suspicion  that  this 
order  concealed  from  the  government  the  treasures  of 
a  country  so  long  extolled.  These  considerations 
determined  the  visitador  Don  Jose  de  Galvez,  whom 
a  chivalrous  disposition  had  engaged  in  an  expedi- 

*  The  old  manuscript  map  of  Castillo  places  the  fabulous 
town  of  Cibola,  or  Cibora,  under  the  37o  of  latitude.  But  on 
reducing  its  position  to  that  of  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Colorado, 
we  are  tempted  to  believe  that  the  ruins  of  the  Casaa  grandest 
of  the  Gila,  mentioned  in  the  description  of  the  intendancy  of 
Sonora,  may  have  given  occasion  to  the  stories  told  by  good 
Father  Marcos  de  Nizza.  However,  the  great  civilization 
which  this  monk  affirms  to  have  found  among  the  inhabitants 
of  these  northern  countries  appears  to  me  a  fact  of  consider- 
able importance,  which  is  connected  with  what  we  have  already 
related  of  the  Indians  of  the  Rio  Gila  and  the  Moqui.  The 
authors  of  the  16th  century  placed  a  second  Dorado  to  the 
north  of  Cibora  under  the  4lo  of  latitude.  According  to  them, 
the  kingdom  of  Tatarrax,  and  an  immense  town  called  Quivira^ 
were  to  be  found  there  on  the  banks  of  the  lake  of  Teguayo, 
near  the  Rio  del  Aguilar.  This  tradition,  if  it  is  founded  on 
the  assertion  of  the  Indians  of  Anahuac,  is  remarkable  enough  ; 
for  the  bcinks  of  the  lake  of  Teguayo,  which  is,  perhaps,  iden- 
tical with  the  lakeof  TJmpaiiogos,  arc  indicated  by  the  Aztec 
historians  as  the  country  of  the  ^lexicans. 


CHAI'.  VI 11.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  223 

^T^^SlVsia^i  XIV.  Province  of  Old  California. 

tion  against  the  Indians  of  Sonora,  to  pass  over  into 
Calirornia.  He  found  tlieie  naked  mountains  without 
soil  and  without  water;  and  a  few  Indian  fig  trees 
and  stunted  shrubs  in  tlie  ereviees  of  the  rocks. 
There  was  no  indication  of  the  gold  and  silver 
which  the  Jesuits  were  accused  of  extracting  fromtlxi 
bowels  of  tlie  earth  ;  but  everywhere  they  i)crceived 
traces  of  their  industry  and  the  praiseworthy  zeal 
with  which  they  applied  to  cultivate  a  desert  and 
arid  country.  In  the  course  of  this  Californian  ex- 
pedition, the  visitador  Galvez  was  accompanied  by 
the  Chevalier  d'Asanza,  a  man  as  remarkable  for  his 
talents  as  for  the  great  vicissitudes  of  fortune  which 
he  has  experienced,  who  acted  as  secretary  under 
M.  Galvez.  He  declared  frankly  what  was  soon 
much  betti  r  proved  by  the  operations  of  the  small 
army  than  by  the  physicians  of  Pitic,  that  the  visita- 
dor was  deranged  in  mind.  M.  d'Asanza  was  ap- 
prehended and  confined  for  five  months  in  a  prison 
in  the  village  of  Tcpozotlan,  where,  thirty  years 
afterwards,  he  made  his  solemn  entry  as  viceroy  of 
New  Spain. 

The  peninsula  of  California,  which  equals  England 
in  extent  of  territory,  and  does  not  contain  tlie  po- 
pulation of  the  small  towns  of  Ipswich  or  Deptiord, 
lies  under  the  same  parallel  with  Bengal  and  the 
Canary  Islands.  The  sky  is  constantly  serene  and 
of  a  deep  blue,  and  Vv  ithout  a  cloud  ;  and  should 
any  clouds  appear  for  a  moment  at  the  setting  of  tlie 
sun,  they  display  the  most  beautiful  shades  of  violet, 
purple,  and  green.  All  those  \\\\o  had  ever  been 
in  California  {yaiiS.  I  have  seen  many  in  New  Spain) 
preserved  the  recollection  <;f  the  extraordinarj^  !;e';nly 
of  this  phenomenon,  which  depends  on  a  particular 
state  of  the  xesicuuir  vapour,  imd  the   purity  of  the 


224  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  hi 

ANALYSIS.  ?^IV»  Province  of  Old  California, 

air  in  these  climates.  Nowhere  could  an  astrono- 
mer find  a  more  delightful  abode  than  Cumana,  Coro, 
the  island  of  Marguerite,  and  the  coast  of  California. 
But  unfortunately  in  this  peninsula  the  sky  is  more 
beautiful  than  the  earth.  The  soil  is  sandy  and  arid, 
like  the  shores  of  Provence  ;  vegetation  is  at  a  stand  ; 
and  rain  is  ver}-  unfrequent. 

A  chain  of  mountains  runs  through  the  centre  of 
the  peninsula,  of  which  ^he  most  elevated,  the  Cerro 
de  la  Giganta,  is  from  fourteen  to  fifteen  hundred 
metres*  in  height,  and  appears  of  volcanic  origin. 
This  Cordillera  is  inhabited  by  animals,  which  from 
their  form  and  their  habits  resemble  the  moufon 
(ovis  ammon)  of  Sardinia,  of  which  Father  Consag 
has  given  but  a  very  imperfect  account.  The  Spa- 
niards call  them  wild  sheep,  [carneros  chnarones.) 
They  leap,  like  the  ibex,  with  their  head  down- 
ivards ;  and  their  horns  are  curved  on  themselves  in 
a  spiral  form.  According  to  the  observations  of  M. 
Costanzo,t  this  animal  differs  essentially  from  the 
wild  goats,  which  are  of  an  ashy  white,  (Jblanc  cendre^) 
larger,  and  peculiar  to  New  California,  especially  to 
the  Sierra  de  Santa  Lucia,  near  Monterey.  More- 
over, these  goats,  which  belong,  perhaps,  to  the  an- 
telope race,  go  in  the  country  by  the  name  of  beren- 
dos,  and,  like  the  chamois,  have  their  horns  curved 
backwards. 

*  From  4,592  to  4,920  feet.     Tran^-: 

t  Journal  of  a  voyage  to  Old  California  and  to  the  port  of 
San  Diego,  drawn  up  in  1769,  (MS.)  This  interesting  journal 
had  been  already  printed  at  Mexico,  when  by  orders  of  the 
ministry  all  the  copies  were  confiscated.  It  is  to  be  desired 
for  the  progress  of  zoology,  that  we  should  speedily  know 
from  the  care  of  travellers  the  true  specific  characters  which 
distinguish  the  carneros  cimarovfs  of  Old  California  from  the 
h."rcn(fcs  of  Monterov. 


«n.AP.  vui  j      kin(;dom  of  new  spain.  225 

^Y>L\LYSIS^1X^^'-  ^'•ov"'^^  <?/*  0^'^  Cabfornki, 

At  the  foot  of  the  mountains  of  Ciilifornia  we  dis- 
cover only  sand,  or  a  stony  stratum,  on  which  cy- 
lindrical cacti  {prganos  del  timal)  shoot  up  to  ex- 
traordinary heights.  We  find  few  springs ;  and, 
through  a  particular  fatality,  it  is  remarked  that  the 
rock  is  naked  where  the  water  springs  up,  while  there 
is  no  water  where  the  rock  is  covered  with  \egetablc 
earth.  Wherever  springs  and  earth  iuippen  to  be 
together,  the  fertility  of  the  soil  is  immense.  It  was 
in  these  points,  of  which  the  number  is  for  from  great, 
that  the  Jesuits  established  iheir  first  missions.  The 
maize,  the  jatropha,  and  the  dioscorea,  vegetate  vi- 
gorously ;  and  the  vine  yields  an  excellent  grape,  of 
which  the  wine  resembles  that  of  the  Canary  Islands. 
In  general,  however.  Old  California,  on  account  of 
the  arid  nature  of  the  soil  and  the  want  of  water  and 
vegetable  earth  in  the  interior  of  the  country,  will 
never  be  able  to  maintain  a  great  population  any  more 
than  the  northern  part  of  Sonora,  which  is  almost 
equally  dry  and  sandy. 

Of  all  the  natural  productions  of  California  the 
pearls  have,  since  the  16th  century,  been  the  chief 
attraction  to  navigators  for  visiting  the  coast  of  this 
desert  countiy.  They  abound  particularly  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  peninsula.  Since  the  cessation 
of  the  pearl  fishery  near  the  island  of  Marguerite,  op- 
posite the  coast  of  Araya,  the  gulfs  of  Panama  and 
California  are  the  only  quarters  in  the  Spanish  colo- 
nies which  supply  pearls  for  the  commerce  of  EuropCo 
Those  of  California  are  of  a  very  beautiful  water  and 
large  ;  but  they  are  frequently  of  an  irregular  figure, 
disagreeable  to  the  eye.  The  shell  which  produces 
the  pearl  is  particularly  to  be  found  in  the  Bay  of 
Ceralvo,  and  rouiKl  die  islands  of  Santa  Cruz  and 
San  Jose.     The  mos>t  valuable  pearls  m  the  pos.se«i. 

VOL.  ir.  r  f 


226  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [bock  m. 

ANALYSIS.    S  XIV.  Province  of  Old  California. 

sion  of  the  court  of  Spain  were  found  in  1615  and 
1665,  in  the  expeditions  of  Juan  Yturbi  and  Bcrnal 
de  Pinadero.  During  the  stay  of  the  visitador  Gal- 
Vi^z  in  Cahfornia,  in  1768  and  1769,  a  private  soldier 
in  the  presidio  of  Loreto,  Juan  Ocio,  was  made  rich 
in  a  short  time  by  pearl  fishing  on  the  coast  of  Ce- 
ralvo.  Since  that  period  the  number  of  pearls  of  Ca- 
lifornia brought  annually  to  market  is  almost  reduced 
to  nothing.  The  Indians  and  negroes,  who  follow 
the  severe  occupation  of  divers,  are  so  poorly  paid  by 
the  whites,  that  the  fishery  is  considered  'as  aban- 
doned. This  branch  of  industry  languishes  from 
the  same  causes  which  in  South  America  have  raised 
the  price  of  the  Peruvian  sheep  skins,  the  caoutchouc, 
and  the  febrifugal  bark  of  the  quinquina. 

Although  Hernan  Cortez  spent  more  than  200,000 
ducats  of  his  patrimony*  in  his  Californian  expedi- 
tions; and  formal  possession  of  the  peninsula  was 
taken  by  Sebastian  Viscaino,  who  deserves  to  be 
placed  in  the  first  rank  of  the  navigators  of  his  age ; 
it  was  only  in  16421  that  the  Jesuits  were  able  to 
form  solid  establishments  there.     Jealous   of  their 

*  Upwards  of  43,000/.  sterling.  Patrimony  is  not  the  cor- 
rect expression  in  this  phice,  but  pro/ieriij.  Corlez's  patri- 
mony was  never  very  great;  and  Bernal  Diaz  st.-.tes,  that 
what  he  had  was  expended  on  costly  presents  and  prepa- 
rations for  his  new-married  wife,  of  whoai  he  was  very  fond, 
before  he  set  out  on  his  celebrated  expedition  from  the  island 
of  Cuba.      Trans. 

t  It  is  advanced  only  a  few  pacjes  before  this  that  the  Je- 
suits commenced  their  settlements  in  Old  California  in  1683  ; 
and  we  see  a  few  lines  after  this  that  the  foundation  of  Loretoj 
under  the  name  of  Presidio  de  San  Dionibio,  was  only  laid  in 
1697,  and  that  the  Spanish  establishments  in  California  be- 
came only  considerabi'j  after  1744.  Should  not,  therefore, 
the  1542  be   1742?      Trar^. 


CHAP,  vni]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  227 

^  ARALYS^s^^l^IV.  Province  of  Old  Californki. 

power,  they  strug-^^lecl  successfully  against  the  efforts 
of  the  monks  of  St.  Francis,  who  endeavoured  from 
time  to  time  to  introduce  themselves  among  the  In- 
dians. They  had  still  more  difficult  enemies  to  ovv  r- 
come,  tlic  soldiers  of  the  military  posts  ;  for  in  the 
extremities  of  the  Spanish  possessions  of  the  New 
Continent,  on  the  limits  of  European  civilization,  the 
legislative  and  executive  powers  are  distributed  in  a 
very  strange  manner.  The  poor  Indian  knows  no 
other  master  than  a  corporal  or  a  missionary. 

In  California  the  Jesuits  obtained  a  complete  vic- 
tory over  the  soldiery  posted  in  the  presidios.  The 
court  decided  by  a  cedida  real,  that  all  the  detach- 
ment of  Loreto,  even  the  captain,  should  be  under 
the  command  of  the  father  at  the  head  of  the  missions. 
The  interesting  voyages  of  three  Jesuits,  Eusebius 
Kiihn,  Maria  Salvatierra,  and  Juan  Uguarte,  brought 
us  acquainted  with  tlie  physical  situation  of  the  coun- 
try. The  village  of  Loreto  had  been  already  founded, 
under  the  name  of  Presidio  de  San  Dionisio,  in  1697. 
Under  the  reign  of  Philip  V.  especially  after  the 
year  1744,  the  Spanish  establishments  in  California 
became  very  considerable.  The  Jesuits  displayed 
there  that  commercial  industry  and  that  activity  to 
which  they  are  indebted  for  so  many  successes,  and 
which  have  exposed  them  to  so  many  calumnies  in 
both  Indies,  in  a  very  few  years  they  built  16  viU 
lages  in  the  interior  of  the  peninsula.  Since  their 
expulsion  in  1767,  California  has  been  conlided  to 
the  Dominican  monks  of  the  city  of  Mexico  ;  and  it 
appears  that  they  h  ive  not  been  so  successful  in  their 
establishments  of  Old  California,  as  the  Franciscans 
have  been  on  tl-.e  coasls  of  New  California. 

The  natives  of  the  peninsula  who  do  not  live  in 
the  missions  are  of  all  £:>vages,  perhaps,  the  nearest 


228  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [booK  U3. 

ANALYSIS.    1 XIV.  Province  of  Old  California, 

to  what  has  been  called  the  state  of  nature.  They 
pass  whole  days  stretched  out  on  their  bellies  on  the 
sand,  when  it  is  heated  by  the  reverberation  of  the 
solar  rays.  Like  several  tribes  of  the  Orinoco  seen 
by  us,  they  entertain  a  great  horror  for  clothing.  "  A 
monkey  dressed  up  does  not  appear  so  ridiculous  to 
the  common  people  in  Europe,"  says  Father  Vene- 
gas,  "  as  a  man  in  clothes  appears  to  the  Indians  of 
California."  Notwithstandhig  this  state  of  apparent 
stupidity,  the  first  missionaries  distinguished  differ- 
ent religious  sects  among  the  natives.  Three  divi- 
nities, who  carried  on  a  war  of  extermination  against 
each  other,  were  objects  of  terror  among  tliree  of  the 
tribes  of  California.  The  Pericues  dreaded  the 
power  of  Niparaya,  and  the  Menquis  and  the  Vehi- 
ties  the  power  of  Wactipuran  and  Sumongo.  I  say 
that  these  hordes  dreaded,  not  that  they  adored,  in- 
visible beings ;  for  the  worship  of  the  savage  is 
merely  a  fit  of  fear,  the  sentiment  of  a  secret  and  re- 
ligious horror. 

According  to  the  information  which  I  obtained 
from  the  monks  who  now  govern  the  two  Californias, 
the  population  of  Old  California  has  diminished  to 
such  a  degree  within  the  last  thirty  years,  that  there 
are  not  more  than  from  four  to  five  thousand  native 
cultivators  {Indios  reducidos)  in  the  villages  of  the 
missions.  The  nmnber  of  these  missions  is  also  re- 
duced to  sixteen.  Those  of  Santiago  and  Guada- 
lupe remain  widiout  inhabitants.  The  small-pox, 
and  another  malady  which  the  Europeans  would  fain 
persuade  themselves  that  they  received  from  the  same 
continent  to  which  they  were  the  first  who  carried 
it,  and  v>hich  exerciiies  such  ravages  in  the  South 
Sea  islands,  are  cited  as  the  principal  causes  of  the 
depopulation  of  California.     It  is  to  be  supposed  that 


CHAP,  viii.]         KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  229 

^Yn^^LySs^.^I^I^-  Province  of  Old  California. 

there  are  others  which  depend  on  the  nature  of  the 
pohtical  institutions  ;  and  it  is  high  time  that  the 
Mexican  government  should  seriously  think  of  re- 
moving the  obstacles  which  prevent  the  prosperit)- 
of  the  inhabitants  of  the  peninsula.  The  number  of 
the  sarages  scarcely  amounts  to  4,000.  It  is  ob- 
served that  those  who  inhabit  the  north  of  California 
are  somewhat  more  gentle  and  civilized  than  the  na- 
tives of  the  southern  division. 

The  principal  villages  of  this  province  arc  : 

Loreto^  presidio  and  principal  place  of  all  the  mis- 
sions of  Old  California,  founded  at  the  end  of  the  17th 
centuiy  by  Father  Kiihn,  the  astronomer  of  Ingol- 
btadt. 

Santa  Ana,  mission  and  real  de  minas,  celebrated 
on  account  of  the  astronomical  observations  of  Ve- 
lasquez. 

San  Joseph,  mission  in  which  the  Abbe  Chappe 
perished,  the  victim  of  his  zeal  and  devotion  for  the 
sciences.* 

*  People  who  have  lived  a  long  time  in  California  have  as- 
sured me,  that  the  A'oticm  of  Father  Venegas,  against  which 
the  enemies  of  the  suppressed  order,  and  even  Cardinal  Lo- 
renzana,  have  raised  up  doubts,  is  very  accurate,  (Cartas  de 
Cortez,  p.  327.)  There  still  exist  in  the  archives  of  Mexico 
the  following  mamiscrijitfi  not  made  use  of  by  Father  Barcos 
in  his  Scoria  de  California,  printed  at  Rome  :  1.  Chronica  his- 
iorica  de  la  p.rovincia  de  Alechoacaii  con  varian  mafias  de  la 
California ;  2.  Cartas  ori^inales  del  Padre  Juan  Maria  de  Salva- 
lierra;  3.  Diario  del  Capitan  Juan  Mateo  Mangi  que  accoiii- 
fiand  a  los  fiadres  a/iostolicos  Kino  u  Kafifms, 


236 


POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE         [book  in. 


STATISTICAL 

ANALYSIS. 

Population 
in 

1  803. 

Extent,  of 

Siiilaiie  in 

sqimre 

Leagues. 

No.  of  Tiihi)!)ii. 

ants  to  the 
square  League 

! 

XV.  Inteiulancy  of 
New  California. 

15,600 

2,125 

7 

The  part  of  the  coast  of  the  Great  Ocean  which 
extends  from  the  isthmus  of  Old  California  or 
from  the  bay  of  Todos  los  Santos  (south  from  the 
port  of  San  Diego)  to  Cape  Mendocino,  bears  on 
the  Spanish  maps  the  name  of  New  California, 
(JVueva  California. )  It  is  a  long  and  narrow  extent 
of  country  in  which  for  these  forty  years  the  Mexi- 
can government  has  been  establishing  missions  and 
Xiiilitary  posts.  No  village  or  farm  is  to  be  found 
north  of  the  port  of  St.  Francis,  which  is  more  than 
78  leagues  distant  from  Cape  Mendocino.  The  pro- 
vince of  New  California  in  its  present  state  is  only 
197  leagues  in  length,  and  from  9  to  10  in  breadth. 
The  city  of  Mexico  is  the  same  distance  in  a  straight 
line  from  Philadelphia  as  from  Monterey,  which  is 
the  chief  place  of  the  missions  of  New  California, 
and  of  which  the  latitude  is  the  same  to  w' ithin  a  few 
minutes  widi  that  of  Cadiz. 

We  have  already  taken  notice  of  the  journeys  of 
.several  monks,  who,  in  the  beginning  of  the  last 
century,  in  passing  by  land  from  the  peninsula  of 
Old  California  to  Sonora  went  on  foot  round  the 
sea  of  Cortez.  At  the  time  of  the  expedition  of 
M.  Galvcz  military  detachments  came  from  Loreto 
to  the  port  of  San  Diego.  .  The  letter-poGt  still 
,^ots  from  this  port  along  the  north-west  coast  to 
JSr.n  Francisco,     This  last  establishment,  the  most 


CHAP,  viii]  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  03 1 

^YmIlySs.^I  XV.  Intendancy  of  New  California. 

nortli(jrn  of  all  the  Spanish  possessions  of  the  New 
Coiitincnt,   is  almost  under  the  same  parallel*-  with 
tlie  small  town  of  Taos  in  New  Mexieo.     It  is  not 
more  than  300  leagues  distjint  from  it ;  and  though 
Father    Esealante,   in  his  apostolical  excursions  in 
1777,  advanced  along  the  western  bank  of  the  river 
Zaguimanas  towards  the  mountains  de  los  Guacaros^ 
no  traveller  has  vet  come  from  New  Mexico  to  the 
coast  of  New  California.     This  fact  nmst  appear  re- 
markable to  those  who  know,  from  the  history  of  the 
conquest  of  America,  the  spirit  of  enterprise  and  the 
wonderful  courage  with   which   the  Spaniards  were 
animated  in  the  16th  century.     Hernan  Cortez  landed 
for  the  first  time  on  the  coast  of  Mexico  in  the  dis- 
trict of  Chalchiuhcuecan  in  1519,  and  in  the  space  of 
four  years    had    already  constructed  vessels    on  the 
coast  of  the  South  Sea  at  Zacatula  and  Tehuantepec. 
In    1537   Alvar  Nunez   Cabeza  dc    Vaca  appeared 
with  two  of  liis  companions  worn  out  with  fatigue, 
naked,  and  covered   with  wounds,  on   the  coast  of 
Culiacan,  opposite  the  peniiisula  of  California.     He 
had  landed  with  Piinfilo  Narvaez  in  Florida,  and  after 
two  years'  excursions,   wandering  over  all  Louisiana 
and  the  northern  part  of  Mexico,  he  arrived  at  the 
shore  of  the  great  ocean   in   Sonora.     This  space, 
which  Nunez  went  over,  is  almost  as  great  as  that  of 
the  route  followed  by  CapUiin  Lewis  from  the  banks 
of  the  Mississippi  to  Nootka  and  the  mouth  of  the 
river  Columbia. f     When  we  consider  the  bold  un- 
dertakings of  the  first  Spaiiish  conquerors  in  Mexico, 

•  See  the  first  chapier  of  this  work. 

t  This  wonderful  journey  of  Captain  Lewis  was  under- 
taken under  the  auspices  of  Mr  JeHcrson,  who  by  this  in-i- 
port^nt  service  rendered  to  science  has  added  new  cluims  ou 
the  gratitude  of  the  savam  of  all  nations. 


232  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE         [book  hi. 

^^aiSl™^^!^^-  Intendancij  of  New  California, 

Peru,  and  on  the  Amazons'  river,  we  are  astonish- 
ed to  find  that  for  two  centuries  the  same  nation 
could  not  find  a  road  by  land  in  New  Spain  from 
Taos  to  the  port  of  Monterey;  in  New  Granada, 
from  Santa  Fe  to  Carthagena,  or  from  Quito  to  Pa- 
nama ;  and  in  Guayana,  from  I'Esmeralda  to  S. 
Thomas  de  1' Angostura  ! 

From  the  example  of  the  English  maps,  several 
geographers  give  the  name  of  Nexv  Albion  to  New 
California.  This  denomination  is  founded  on  the 
very  inaccurate  opinion  that  the  navigator  Drake  first 
discovered,  in  1578,  the  north-west  coast  of  America 
between  the  38°  and  48o  of  latitude.  The  celebrated 
voyage  of  Sebastian  Viscaino  is,  no  doubt,  24 
years  posterior  to  the  discoveries  of  Francis  Drake  ; 
but  Knox*  and  other  historians  seem  to  forget  that 
Cabrillo  had  alreadv  examined  in  1542  the  coast  of 
New  California  to  the  parallel  of  43'*,  the  boundary 
of  his  navigation,  as  we  may  see  from  a  comparison 
of  the  old  observations  of  latitude  with  those  taken 
in  our  own  days.  According  to  sure  historical  data, 
the  denomination  of  New  Albion  ought  to  be  limited 
to  that  part  of  the  coast  which  extends  from  the  43" 
to  the  48",  or  from  Cape  White  of  Martin  de  Agiii- 
lar  to  the  entrance  of  Juan  de  Fuca.-\  Besides,  from 
the  missions  of  the  catholic  priests  to  those  of  the 
Greek  priests,  that  is  to  say,  from  the  Spanish  vil- 
lage  of  San  Francisco  in  New  California  to  the  Rus- 
sian establishments  on  Cook  river  at  Prince  Wil- 
liam's Bay,  and  to  the  islands  of  Kodiac  and  Unalas- 
ka,  there  are  more  than  a  thousand  leagues  of  coast 

*  Knox's  Collcciion  of  Voyages,  yoL  III.  p.  18. 

t  See  th'.;  learned  resewches  in  tlic  introduction  of  the  Viage 
dclaa  Golcras  Szitil  y  Mcjcicanoy  1802,  p.  xxxiv.  xxxvi.  Ivii. 


tuAH.  VIII.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  033 

^  a1?ALyL^:^^1  ^^'  ^''f^'dancy  of  New  Calirorma. 

inhabitt'd  by  free  men,  and  stocked  with  otters  and 
Phocie !  Consequently,  the  discussions  on  the  ex- 
tent of  the  New  Albion  of  Drake,  and  the  pretended 
rights  acquiied  by  certain  European  nations  from 
planting  small  crosses  and  leaving  inscriptions  fas- 
tened to  trunks  of  trees,  or  the  burying  of  botdes, 
may  be  considered  as  futile. 

Although  the  whole  shore  of  New  California  was 
carefully  examined  by  the  great  navigator  Sebastian 
Viscaino,  (as  is  proved  by  plans  drawn  up  by  himself 
in  1602,)  this  fine  country  was  only,  however,  occu- 
pied by  the  Spaniards  167  years  afterwards.  The 
court  of  Madrid  dreading  lest  the  other  maritime 
powers  of  Europe  should  form  settlements  on  the 
north-west  coast  of  America  which  might  become, 
dangerous  to  the  Spanish  colonics,  gave  orders  to  the 
Chevalier  de  Croix,  the  viceroy,  and  the  Visitador 
GiJvez,  to  found  missions  and  presidios  in  the  ports 
ot  San  Diego  and  Monterey.  For  this  purpose  two 
packet-boats  set  out  from  the  port  of  San  Bias,  and 
anchored  at  San  Diego  in  the  month  of  April,  1763. 
Another  expedition  arrived  by  land  through  Old 
California.  Since  Viscaino,  no  European  had  dis- 
embarked on  these  distant  coasts.  The  Indians 
were  quite  astonished  to  see  men  witli  clothes,  though 
they  knew  that  farther  east  there  were  men  whose 
complexion  was  not  of  a  coppery  colour.  There 
was  even  found  among  them  several  pieces  of  silver, 
which  had  undoubtedly  come  from  New  Mexico. 
The  first  Spanish  colonists  suft'ered  a  great  deal  from 
scarcity  of  provisions  and  an  epidemical  disease,  the 
consequence  of  the  bad  quality  of  their  food,  their 
fatigues,  and  the  want  of  shelter.  Almost  all  of  them 
fell  sick,  and  only  eight  individuals  remained  on 
their   feet.      Amongst   these  were   two  respectable 

VOL.  II.  G  g 


234  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book m. 

STATISTICAL  ^  Yir     T  *     .1    '        /•  \r        r^  r  r- 
ANALYSIS,   l-^y  ' -Intendmicy  of  New  California. 

men,  Fray  Junipero  Serra,  a  monk  knovm  from  his 
travels,  and  M.  Costanzo,  the  head  of  the  engineers, 
in  whose  praise  we  have  already  so  often  spoken  in 
the  course  of  this  work.  They  were  employed  in 
digging  graves  to  receive  the  bodies  of  their  com- 
panions. The  land  expedition  was  very  late  in  arri- 
ving with  assistance  to  this  unfortunate  infant  colony. 
The  Indians,  to  announce  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards, 
placed  themselves  on  casks  with  their  arms  out,  to 
show  that  they  had  seen  whites  on  horseback. 

The  soil  of  New  California  is  as  well  watered 
and  fertile  as  that  of  Old  California  is  arid  and  stony. 
It  is  one  of  the  most  picturesque  countries  which 
can  be  seen.  The  climate  is  much  more  mild  there 
than^in  the  same  latitude  on  the  eastern  coast  of  the 
new  continent.  The  sky  is  foggy,  but  the  frequent 
fogs,  which  render  it  difficult  to  land  on  the  coast  of 
Monterey  and  San  Francisco,  give  vigour  to  vegeta- 
tion and  fertilize  the  soil,  which  is  covered  Avith  a 
black  and  spongy  earth.  In  the  eighteen  missions 
which  now  exist  in  New  California,  wheat,  maize, 
and  haricots,  (frisoles. )  are  cultivated  in  abundance. 
E^rley,  beans,  lentils,  and  garbanzos^  grow  very 
well  in  the  fields  in  the  greatest  part  of  the  province. 
As  the  thirty-six  monks  of  St.  Francis  who  govern 
these  missions  are  ail  Europeans,  they  have  carefully 
introduced  into  the  gardens  of  the  Indians  the  most* 
part  of  the  roots  and  fruit  trees  cultivated  in  Spain. 
The  first  colonists  found,  on  their  arrival  there,  in 
1769,  shoots  of  wild  vines  in  the  interior  of  the  coun- 
try, which  yielded  very  large  grapes  of  a  very  sour 
quality.  It  was,  ])erhaps,  one  of  the  numerous  spe- 
cies of  vitis  peculiar  to  Canada,  Louisiana,  and  New 
Biscay,  which  are  still  very  imperfectly  known  to 
botanists.     The  missionaries  introduced  into  Califor- 


1HAP.  VIII.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  235 

^analSs^^I^V.  Intendancy  of  New  California, 

nia  the  vine,  [vit'is  vhuftra,)  of  which  the  Greeks  and 
Romans  cliftused  the  cultivation  throughout  Europe, 
and  which  is  certainly  a  stranger  to  the  new  continent. 
Good  wine  is  made  in  the  villages  of  San  Diego,  San 
Juan  Capistrano,  San  Gabriel,  San  Buenaventura, 
Santa  Barbara,  Sun  Luis  Obispo,  Santa  Clara,  and  San 
Jose,  and  all  along  the  coast,  south  and  north  of 
Monterey,  to  bej  ond  the  37°'  of  latitude.  The  Eu- 
ropean oli\  e  is  successfully  cultivated  near  the  canal 
of  Santa  Barbara,  especially  near  San  Diego,  where 
an  oil  is  made  as  good  as  that  of  the  valley  of  Mexi- 
co, or  the  oils  of  Andalusia.  The  very  cold  winds 
which  blow  ^vith  impetuosity  from  the  north  and 
north-west,  sometimes  prevent  the  fruits  from  ri- 
pening along  the  coast ;  but  the  small  village  of  Santa 
Clara,  situated  nine  leagues  from  Santa  Cruz  and  shel- 
tered by  a  chain  of  mountains,  has  better  planted 
orchards  and  more  abundant  harvests  of  fruit  than  the 
presidio  of  Monterey.  In  this  last  place,  the  monks 
show  travellers,  with  satisfaction,  several  useful  vege- 
tabk  s,  the  produce  of  the  seeds  given  by  M.  Thouin 
to  the  unfortunate  Laperouse. 

Of  all  the  missions  of  New  Spain  those  of  the 
north-west  coast  exhibit  the  most  rapid  and  remarkable 
progress  in  civilization.  The  public  having  taken  an 
interest  in  the  details  published  by  Laperouse,  Van- 
couver, and  two  recent  Spanish  navigators,  MM. 
Galiano  and  Valdes,*  on  the  state  of  these  distant 
regions,  I  endeavoured  to  procure  during  my  stay  at 
Mexico  the  statistical  tables  drawn  up  in  1802  on  the 
very  spot  (at  San  Carlos  de  Monterey)  by  the  present 
president  of  the  missions  of  New  California,   Father 

*  Viage  de  la  Sutii,  p.  1 67. 


236  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE       [book  in. 

^ANALYSIS^^]XV.  Intendancy  of  New  California. 

Firmin  Lasuen.*  From  the  comparison  which  I 
made  of  the  official  papers  preserved  in  the  archives 
of  the  archbishopric  of  Mexico,  it  appears  that  in 
1776  there  were  only  8  and  in  1790  11  villages; 
while  in  1802  the  number  amounted  to  18.  The  po- 
pulation of  New  California,  inuluding  only  the  In- 
dians attached  to  the  soil  who  have  begun  to  culti- 
rate  their  fields,  was 

in  1790,     .     .       7,748  souls 
in  1801,     .     .     13,668 
and  in  1802,     .     .     15,562 

Thus  the  number  of  inhabitants  has  doubled  in 
12  years.  Since  the  foundation  of  these  missions, 
or  between  1769  and  1802,  there  were  in  all,  accord- 
ing to  the  parish  registers,  33,717  baptisms,  8,009 
marriages,  and  16,984  deaths.  We  must  not  attempt 
to  deduce  from  these  data  the  proportion  between  the 
births  and  deaths^  because  in  the  number  of  baptisms 
the  adult  Indians  {los  neofitos)  are  confounded  with 
the  children. 

The  estimation  of  the  produce  of  the  soil,  or  the 
harvests,  furnishes  also  the  most  convincing  proofs 
of  the  increase  of  industry  and  prosperity  of  New 
California.  In  1791,  according  to  the  tables  pub- 
lished by  M.  Galiano,  the  Indians  sowed  in  the  whole 
province  only  ^lAfanegas  of  wheat,  which  yielded  a 
harvest  of  15^197  Janegas.  The  cultivation  doubled 
in  1802  ;  for  the  quantity  of  wheat  sown  was  2,089 
Janegas,  and  the\\2irvest  33^576 /a?iegas. 

The  following  table  contains  the  number  of  live 
stock  in  1802. 

Beeves.    I    Sheep.    |    Hogs.    I    Horses.    |    Mules. 
67,782       I     107,172    |      1,040      |        2,187      |        877 

*  See  the  extract  from  these  tables  in  note  D.  at  the  end  of 
this  work. 


caAP.  vui.]       KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  237 

^^YnalyL^s^^]XV-  Intendancy  of  New  California, 

In  1791  there  were  only  24,958  heads  of  blac^c 
cattle  [ganado  major)  in  the  whole  of  the  Indian  vil- 
lages. 

This  progress  of  agriculture,  this  peaceful  con- 
quest of  industry  is  so  much  the  more  interesting, 
as  the  natives  oi  this  coast,  very  diflerent  from  those 
ol  Nootka  and  Norfolk  bay,  were  only  thirty  years 
ago  a  wanderinir  tribe,  subsisting  on  fishing  and  hunt- 
ing, and  cultivating  no  sort  of  vegetables.  'I'he  In- 
dians of  the  bay  of  S.  Francisco  were  equally  wretch- 
ed at  that  time  with  the  inhabitants  of  Van  Diemen's 
Land.  The  natives  were  found  somewhat  more  ad- 
vanced in  civilization  in  1769  only  in  the  canal  of 
Santa  Barbara.  They  constructed  large  houses  of  a 
pyramidal  form  close  to  one  another.  They  appeared 
benevolent  and  hospitable ;  and  they  presented  the 
Spaniards  with  vases  very  curiously  wrought  of  stalks 
of  rushes.  M.  Bonpland  possesses  several  of  these 
vases  in  his  collections,  which  are  covered  within 
with  a  very  thin  layer  ofasphaltus,  that  renders  them 
impenetrable  to  water,  or  the  strong  liquors  which 
they  may  happen  to  contain. 

The  northern  part  of  California  is  inhabited  by 
the  two  nations  of  the  Rumsen  and  Escelen.*  They 
speak  languages  totally  different  from  one  another, 
and  they  form  the  population  of  the  presidio  and  the 
village  of  Monterey.  In  the  bay  of  San  Francisco 
the  language  of  the  different  tribes  of  the  Matalans, 
Salsen,  and  Quirotes,  are  derived  from  a  common 
root.  I  have  heard  several  travellers  speak  of  the 
analogy  between  the  Mexican  or  Aztec  language, 
and  the  idioms   of  the   north-west  coast  of  North 


♦  Manuscrifit  of  Father  iMKuen.     M.  de  Galiano  calls  them 
Rumsieu  and  Eslen. 


238  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  in 

ANALYSIS.    1  ■^^*  I^itcndancy  of  Netv  California. 

America.  It  appeared  to  me,  however,  that  they 
exaggerated  the  resemblance  between  these  American 
languages.  On  examining  carefully  the  vocabula- 
ries formed  at  Nootka  and  Monterey,  I  was  struck 
■with  the  similarity  of  tone  and  termination  to  those 
of  Mexico  in  several  words,  as,  for  example,  in  the 
language  of  the  Nootkians  ;  apquixitl  (to  embrace,) 
temextixitl  (to  kiss,)  cocotl  (otter,)  hitlzitl  (to  sigh,) 
tzitzimitz  (earth,)  and  imcoatzimitl  (the  name  of  a 
month.)  However,  the  languages  of  New  California 
and  the  island  of  Quadra  differ  in  general  essentially 
from  the  Aztec,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  cardinal  num- 
bers brought  together  in  the  following  table. 


Mexican. 

Mscelen. 

Rumsen. 

JVootka. 

l.Ce   -     - 

Pek      -      - 

Enjala 

Sahuac 

2.  Ome     - 

Ulhai     -       - 

Ultis     -      - 

Ada 

3.  Jei      - 

Julep     - 

Kappes     -     - 

Catz3, 

4.  Nahui  - 

Jamajus    -     - 

Ultitzim 

Nu 

5.  Macuilli 

Pamajala 

Haliizu     -     - 

Sutcha 

6  Chicuace 

Pegualanai     - 

Halishakem 

Nupu 

7.  Chicome 

Julajualanai    - 

Kapkaniaishakem 

Atlipu 

8.  Chicuei 

Julepjualanai 

Ultumaishakem 

Atlcual 

9.  Chiucnahui 

Jamajusjualanai 

Pakke    -      - 

Tzahuacuatl 

0.  Matlactli 

Tomoila 

Tamchaigt    - 

Ayo 

The  Nootka  \^fbrds  are  taken  from  a  manuscript 
of  M.  Mozifio,  and  not  from  Cook's  vocabulary,  in 
which  ayo  is  confounded  with  haecoo,  nu  with  mo, 
&c.  &.C. 

Father  Lasuen  observed  that  on  an  extent  of  180 
leao-ues  of  the  coast  of  California  from  San  Diesro  to 
San  Francisco,  no  fewer  than  17  languages  are  spoken, 
which  can  hardly  be  considered  ^fi  dialects  of  a  small 
number  of  mother- languages.  This  assertion  will 
not  astonish  those  who  know  the  curious  researches 


CHAP.  VIII.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  239 

ANALYSIS,    s  ■^^*  Intendcincy  of  New  California. 

of  MM.  Jefferson,  Volney,  Barton,  Hervas,  William 
de  Humboldt,  Vater,  and  Frederic  Schlegtl,*  on  the 
subject  of  the  American  languages. 

The  population  of  Nc:\v  California  would  have  aug- 
mented still  more  rapidly  if  the  laws  by  which  the 
Spanish  presidios  have  been  governed  for  ages  were 
not  directly  opposite  to  the  true  interests  of  both  mo- 
ther country  and  coloiiies.  By  these  laws  the  sol- 
diers stationed  at  Monterey  are  not  permitted  to  live 
out  of  their  barracks  and  to  settle  as  colonists.  The 
monks  are  generally  averse  to  the  settlement  of  colo- 
nists of  the  white  cast,  because  being  people  who  rea- 
son, (gente  de  razon,t)  they  do  not  submit  so  easily 
to  a  blind  obedience  as  the  Indians.  "  It  is  truly 
distressing,"  (says  a  well  informed  and  enlightened 
Spanish  navigator,!)  "  that  the  military  who  pass  a 
painful  and  laborious  life,  cannot  in  their  old  age 
settle  in  the  country  and  employ  themselves  in  agri- 
culture. The  prohibition  of  building  houses  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  presidio  is  contrary  to  all  the 
dictates  of  sound  policy.  If  the  whites  were  permitted 
to  employ  themselves  in  the  cultivation  of  the  soil 
and  the  rearing  of  cattle,  and  if  the  military,  by  es- 
tablishing their  wives  and  children  in  cottages,  could 
prepare  an  asylum  against  the  indigence  to  which 

*  See  the  classical  work  of  M.  Schlegel,  on  the  language, 
philosophy,  and  poetry  of  the  Hindoos,  in  which  are  to  be 
found  very  enlarged  views  relative  to  the  mechanism,  I  "may 
say  the  organization,  of  the  languages  of  the  two  continents. 

t  In  the  Indian  villages  the  natives  are  distinguished  from 
the  gcnte  de  razon.  The  whites,  mulattoes,  negroes,  and  all 
the  casts  which  are  not  Indiaiis  go  under  the  designation  of 
genie  de  razon;  a  humiliating  expression  for  the  natives, 
\yhich  had  its  origin  in  ages  of  barbarism. 

%  Jortrnal  of  Don  Dionisis  Galiano: 


240  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  nj. 

^ANALYSIS^^]^^^-  Intendancy  of  New  California. 

they  are  too  irequently  exposed  in  their  old  age,  New 
California  would  soon  become  a  flourishing  colony, 
a  resting  place  of  the  greatest  utility  for  the  Spanish 
navigators  who  trade  between  Peru,  Mexico,  and 
the  Philippine  Islands."  On  removing  the  obstacles 
which  we  have  pointed  out,  the  Malouine  Islands, 
the  missions  of  the  Rio  Negro,  and  the  coasts  of  San 
Francisco  and  Monterey,  would  soon  be  peopled  with 
a  great  number  of  whites.  But  what  a  striking  con- 
trast between  the  principles  of  cofonizntion  followed 
by  the  Spaniards,  and  those  by  which  Great  Britain 
has  created  in  a  few  years  villages  on  the  eastern  coast 
of  New  Holland ! 

The  Rumsen  and  Escelen  Indians  share  with  the 
nations  of  the  Aztec  race,  and  several  of  the  tribes 
of  northern  Asia,  a  strong  inclination  for  warm  baths. 
The  temazcalli,  still  found  at  Mexico,  of  which  the 
A^be  Clavigero  has  given  an  exact  representation,* 
are  true  vapour  baths.  The  Aztec  Indian  remains 
stretched  out  in  a  hot  oven,  of  which  the  flags  are 
continually  v/atercd  ;  but  the  natives  of  New  Cali- 
fornia use  the  bath  formerly  recommended  by  the 
celebrated  Franklin,  under  the  name  oiivarm  air  bath. 
We  accordingly  find  in  the  missions  beside  each  cot- 
tage a  small  vaulted  edifice  in  the  form  of  a  temaz- 
calli. Returning  from  their  labour,  the  Indians  enter 
the  oven,  in  which  a  few  moments  before,  the  fire 
has  been  extinguished  ;  and  they  remain  there  for  a 
quarter  of  an  hour.  W "nen  they  feel  themselves  co- 
vered over  with  perspiration,  they  plunge  into  the 
cold  water  of  a  neighbovn^ing  stream,  or  wallow  about 
in  the  sand.  This  rapid  transition  from  heat  to  cold, 
and  the  sudden  suppression  of  the  cutaneons  ti'ans- 

*  CAr^r^rro,  II.  p.  214. 


G«AP.  vin.]  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  24 J 

^ANALYSls^^lXV.  Litendancy  of  New  Qaliform'^- 


piration  which  a  European  would  justly  dread, 
causes  the  most  agreeable  sensations  to  ihe  savi.ge, 
who  enjoys  whatever  strongly  agitates  him  or  acts 
with  violence  on  his  nervous  system.* 

The  Indians  who  inhabit  the  villages  of  New  Ca- 
lifornia have  been  for  some  years  employed  in  spin- 
ning coarse  woollen  stuff's,  Q.;A\t(S.  frisadas.  But  their 
principal  occupation,  of  which  the  produce  might  be- 
come a  very  considerable  branch  of  commerce,  is 
the  dressing  of  stag  skins.  It  appears  to  me  that  it 
nrjay  not  be  uninteresting  to  relate  here  what  I  could 
collect  from  the  manuscript  journals  of  Colonel  Cos- 
tanzo,  relative  to  the  animals  which  live  in  the  moun- 
tains bet\^•een  San  Diego  and  Monterey,  and  the  par- 
ticular address  with  which  the  Indians  get  possession 
of  the  stags. 

In  the  Cordillera  of  small  elevation  which  runs 
along  the  coast,  as  well  as  in  the  neighbouring  sa- 
vannas, there  are  neither  buffaloes  nor  elks ;  and  on 
the  crest  of  the  mountains  which  are  covered  with 
snow  in  the  month  of  November,  the  berendos^  with 
small  chamois  horns,  of  which  we  have  already 
spoken,  feed  by  themselves.  But  all  the  forest  and 
all  the  plains  covered  with  gramina  are  filled  with 
flocks  of  stags  of  a  most  gigantic  size,  the  branches 
of  which  are  round  and  extremely  large.  Forty  or 
fifty  of  them  are  frequently  seen  at  a  time  :  tht  y  are 
of  a  brown  colour,  smooth,  and  without  spot.  Their 
branches,  of  which  the  seats  of  the  antlers  are  not  flat, 
are  nearly  15  decimetresf  (41-2  ieet)  in  length.  It 
is  afiirmed  b}'  every  traveller,  that  this  great  stag  of 

*  Most  readers  probaljly  know  that  this  trpnsition  from  hot 
to  cold  bathing  is  piaclised  also  in  Russia.     TruriR. 

t  4  feet  1 1  inches  Ens^lish.     Tuna. 
VOL.  II.  H  h 


242  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  ni, 

^ANALYsfs'!^^]^^-^"^^'^^^"'^^^/-^'^^  California' 

New  California '  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  animals 
of  Spanish  America.     It  probably  differs  from  the 
wewakish  of  M.  Heame,  or  the  elk  of  the  United 
States,  of  which  naturalists  have  very  improperly 
made  the  two  species  of  fcervus  canadensis,  and  cer- 
vus  strongyloceros.*     These  stags  of  New  Califor- 
nia, not  to  be  found  in  Old  California,  formerly  struck 
the  navigator  Sebastian  Viscaino,  when  he  put  into 
the  port  of  Monterey  on  the  15th  December,  1602. 
He  asserts  "that  he  saw  some,  of  which  the  branches 
were  three  metres    (nearly   nine  feet)    in  length." 
These    venados    run    with   extraordinary  rapidity, 
throwing   their    head    back,    and    supporting    theu' 
branches  on  their  backs.    The  horses  of  New  Biscay, 
which  are  famed  for  running,  are  incapable  of  keeping 
up  with  them  ;  and  they  only  reach  them  at  the  mo- 
ment when  the  animal,   who  very  seldom  drinks, 
comes  to  quench  his  thirst.     He  is  then  too  heavy  to 
display  all  the  energy  of  his  muscular  force,  and  is 
easily  come  up  with.     The  hunter  who  pursues  him 
gets  the  better  of  him  by  means  of  a  noose,  in  the 
same  way  as  they  manage  wild  horses  and  cattle  in 
the  Spanish  colonies.     The  Indians  make  use,  how- 
ever, of  another  very  ingenious  artifice  to  approach 
the  stags  and  kill  them.     They  cut  off  the  head  of 
a  veiiado,  the  branches  of  which  are  very  long ;  and 
they  empty  the  neck,  and  place  it  on  their  own  head. 
Masked  in  this  manner,  but  armed  also  with  bows 
and  arrows,  they  conceal  themselves  in  the  brush- 
wood,  or  among  the  high  and  thick  herbage.     By 

*  There  still  prevails  a  good  deal  of  uncertainty  as  to  the 
specific  characters  of  the  great  and  small  stags  (venados)  of 
the  New  Continent.  See  the  interesting  researches  of  M. 
Cuvicr,  contained  in  his  Alemoire  snr  les  os  Jbssilcs  des  rumi- 
nans.     Jnnales  du  Mustum,  An.  VI.  p.  353, 


cHAP.viii]        KINGDOM*  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  043 

ANALYSIS.     5  XV.  Intendancy  of  New  California. 

imitating  the  motion  of  a  stag  when  it  feeds,  they 
draw  round  them  the  flock,  which  becomes  the  vic- 
tim of  the  deception.  This  extraordinary  hunt  was 
seen  by  M.  Costanzo  on  the  coast  of  the  channel  of 
Santa  Barbara ;  and  it  was  seen  twenty -four  years 
afterwards  in  the  savannas  in  'he  neighbourhood  of 
!Monterey*  by  the  officers  embarked  in  the  galetas 
Sutil  and  Mexiama.  The  enormous  stag- branches 
which  Montezuma  displayed  as  objects  of  curiosity 
to  the  companions  of  Cortez  belonged,  perhaps,  to 
the  venadus  of  New  California.  I  saw  two  of  them, 
which  were  found  in  the  old  monument  of  Xoachi- 
calco,  still  preserved  in  the  palace  of  the  viceroy. 
Notwithstanding  the  want  of  interior  communication 
in  the  fifteenth  century,  in  the  kingdom  of  Anahuac, 
it  would  not  have  been  extraordinary  if  these  stags 
had  come  from  hand  to  hand  from  the  35o  to  the  20*^ 
of  latitude,  in  the  same  manner  as  we  see  the  beautiful 
piedras  de  Mahagua  of  Brazil  among  the  Caribs,  near 
the  mouth  of  the  Orinoco. 

The  Spanish  and  Russian  establishments  being 
hitherto  the  only  ones  which  exist  on  the  north-west 
coast  of  America,  it  may  not  be  useless  here  to 
enumerate  all  the  missions  of  New  California  which 
liave  been  founded  up  to  1803.  This  detail  is  more 
interesting  at  this  period  than  ever,  as  the  United 
States  have  shown  a  desire  to  advance  towards  the 
west,  towards  the  shores  of  the  Great  Ocean,  which, 
opposite  to  China,  abound  with  beautiful  furs  of  sea 
otters. 

The  missions  of  New  California  nm  from  south  to 
north  in  the  order  here  indicated  : 

San  Diego  J   a  village   founded  in    1769,  fifteen 

*  Via^e  a  Fuca,  p.  1^4. 


244  POLITTCAr,  ESSAY  ON  tHE  liSo'k  iir., 

ANALYSi^^i  ^^-  ^^^tendancy  of  New  California. 

leagues  distant  from  the  most  northern  mission  of 
O'liX  Guijiorniu.     Population  in  1802,  1,560. 

Suh  Luis  Rey  de  Francia^  a  village  founded  in 
1798,600. 

SanJuun  Capistrafio,  a  village  founded  in  1776, 
1,000. 

San  Gabriel,  a  village  founded  in  1771,  1,050. 

San  Ferjmndo,  a  village  founded  in  1797,  600. 

San  Buenaventura,   a   village    founded   in    1782^ 
950. 

Santa  Barhar-a,  a  village  founded  in   1786,  1,100 

La  Punssima    Concepc'on,  a   village   Ibunded  in 
1787,  1,000. 

San  Luis  Obispo,  a  village  founded  in  1772,  700% 

Smi  Migitei^iX  village  founded  in  1797,  600. 

Soledad,  a  village  founded  in  1791,  570. 

San  Antonio  de  Padua,  a  village  founded  in  1771> 
1,050. 

San  Carlos  de  Monterey,  capital  of  New  Califor- 
nia, founded  in  1770,  at  ih.  loot  ol  the  Cordillera 
of  Santa  Lucia,  which  is  covered  with  oaks,  pines, 
{foliis  ternis,)  and  rose  bushes.  The  village  is  tvvo 
leagues  distant  from  the  presidio  of  the  same  name. 
It  appears  that  the  bay  of  Monterey  had  aheady 
been  discovered  by  Cabrillo  on  the  15th  November, 
1542,  and  that  he  gave  it  the  name  of  Bahia  de  los 
Finos,  on  account  of  the  beautiful  pines  with  which 
the  neighbouring  mountains  are  covered.  It  received 
its  present  name  sixty  years  afterwards  from  Viscaino, 
in  honour  of  the  viceroy  of  Mexico,  Gaspar  de  Zu- 
nega  Count  de  Monterey,  an  active  man,  to  whom 
we  are  indebted  for  considi  rable  maritime  expedi- 
tions, and  who  engaged  Juan  de  Onate  in  the  eon- 


eHAP.vMi.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  245 

^ANALYsis^^i^'^V-  Intendancy  of  New  California. 

quest  of  New  Mexico.  The  coasts  in  the  vicinity 
ol  San  Carlos  produce  the  famous  aurum  meritm 
(onnier)  of  Monterey,  in  request  by  the  inhabitants 
of  Nootka,  and  which  is  employed  in  the  trade  of 
otter  skins.     The  population  of  San  Carlos  is  700. 

San  Juan  Bauiista,  a  village  founded  in  1797, 
9(50. 

Santa  Cruz,  a  village  founded  in  1794,  440. 

Santa  Clara,  a  village  founded  in  1777,  1,300. 

San  JosCj  a  village  ibunded  in  1797,  630. 

San  Francisco,  a  village  founded  in  1776,  with 
a  fine  port.  This  port  is  frequently  confounded  by 
geographers  with  the  port  of  Drake  further  north, 
under  the  38"  10'  of  latitude,  called  by  the  Spaniards 
the  Puerto  de  Bodega.  Population  of  San  Francis- 
co, 820. 

We  are  ignorant  of  the  number  of  whites,  mesti- 
zoes and  mulattoes,  who  live  in  New  California, 
either  in  the  presidios  or  in  the  service  of  the  monks 
of  St.  Francis.  I  believe  their  number  ma}  be 
about  1,300;  for  in  the  two  years  of  IhOl  and  1802, 
there  were  in  the  cast  of  whites  and  mixed  h\oo&  35 
marriages,  182  baptisms,  and  82  deaths.  It  is  only 
on  this  part  of  the  population  that  the  government 
can  reckon  for  the  defence  of  the  coast,  in  case  oif 
any  military  attack  by  the  maritime  powers  of  Eu- 
rope! 


246  POLITICAL  ESSAY  O^  THE         [book  m. 


Recapitulation  of  the  total  population  of  New  Spain. 

Indigenous,  or  Indians  2,500,000 

Whites  or   C  Creoles        1,025,0007  i  lOO  000 

Spaniards     \  Europeans        70,000  3  '       ' 

African  Negroes  6r,100 

Casts  of  mixed  blood  1,231,000 


Total,     5,837,100 

These  numbers  are  only  the  result  of  a  calcula- 
tion by  approximation.  We  have  judged  proper  to 
adopt  the  sum  total  already  mentioned,  vol.  i.  p. 
210.* 

*  The  reader  Avill  perceive  on  summing  up  the  above  table 
that  the  amount  is  only  4,837,100,  consequently  there  is  a  mil- 
lion of  deficiency  somevvhere.  M.  de  Humboldt  elsewhere 
states  the  Indians  at  two-fifths  of  the  whole  population  of  New 
Spain,  so  they  are  not  underrated  here.  In  the  commence- 
ment of  the  7th  chapter  the  author  observes  that  the  whites 
"would  occupy  the  second  place,  considered  only  in  the  rela- 
tion of  number.  In  the  above  table,  however,  they  are  infe- 
rior in  number  to  the  casts  of  mixed  blood.  In  the  second 
paragraph  of  the  7th  chapter  the  author  states  the  amount  of 
the  whites  at  1,200,000.  We  are  tempted  to  think  that  the 
two  first  figures  of  this  number  ought  to  change  place  with 
one  another,  which  would  then  make  2,100,000.  This  would 
give  us  the  additional  million  wanting  in  the  above  table. 
However,  the  author  adds  that  nearly  a  fourth  part  of  the 
white  population  of  1,200,000  inhabit  X\\&  pro-vincianinternas. 
Now  the  whole  population  of  the  provincias  internas,  inclu- 
ding whatever  Indians  or  other  races  there  may  be  in  them, 
amounts  only  to  4-23, 3o0.  So  that  deducting  the  Indians,  &c. 
this  number  would  approach  nearer  perhaps  to  a  fourth  of 
1,200,000  than  of  2,100,000.  Amidst  these  difficulties  the 
reader  must  decide  for  himself.     Tram, 


CHAP.  VIII  ]         KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  247 

After  this  view  of  the  provinces  of  which  the 
vast  empire  of  Mexico  is  composed,  it  remains  for 
us  to  bestow  a  rupicl  glance  on  the  coast  of  the  Great 
Ocean,  which  extends  from  the  port  of  San  Fran- 
cisco, and  from  Cape  Mendocino  to  the  Russian  es- 
tablishments in  Prince  William's  Sound. 

The  whole  of  this  coast  has  been  visited  since  the 
end  of  the  16th  century  by  Spanish  navigators ;   but 
they  have  only  been  carefully  examined  by  order  of 
the  vicero}  s  of  New  Spain  since  1774.     Numerous 
expeditions  of  discovery  have  followed  one    another 
up  to  1792.     The  colony  attempted  to  be  established 
by  the  Spaniards  at  Nootka  fixed  for  some  time  the 
attention  of  all  the  maritime  powers  of  Europe.     A 
few  sheds  erected  on  the  coast,  and  a  miserable  bas- 
tion defended  by  swivel  guns,   and  a  few  cabbages 
planted  within  an  enclosure,  were  very  near  exciting 
a  bloody  war  between   Spain  and   England ;  and  it 
was  only   by  the  destruction   of  the  establishment 
founded  at  the  island  of  Quadra  and  of  Vancoiwer 
that  Macuina,  the   Toys  or  prince  of  Nootka,   was 
enabled  to  preserve  his  independence.     Several  na- 
tions of  Europe  have  frequented   this  latitude   since 
1786,  for  the  sake  of  the  trade  in  sea  otter  skins ;  but 
their  rivalry  has  had  the  most  disadvantageous  con- 
sequences both  for  themselves  and  the  natives  of  the 
countr}\     The  price  of  the  skins  as  they  rose  on  the 
coast  of  America  fell  enormously  in  China.     Cor- 
ruption of  manners  has  increased  among  the  Indians; 
and  by  following  the  same  policy  by  which  the  Afri- 
can coasts  have  been  laid  waste,  the  Europeans  en- 
deavoured to  take  advantage  of  the  discord  among 
the   Tays.     Several  of  the  most  debauched  sailors 
deserted  their  ships  to  settle  among  the  natives  of 
the  country.     At  Nootka,  as  well  as  at  the  Sandwich 
Islands,  the  most  fearful  mixture   of  primitive  bar- 
barity with  the  vices  of  polished  P2urope  is  to  be  ob- 
served.    It  is  difficult  to  conceive  that  the  few  spe- 


^48  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  im- 

cies  of  roots  of  the  old  continent  transplanted  into 
these  fertile  regions  by  voyagers,  which  figure  ui  the 
list  of  benefits  that  the  Europeans  boast  oi  having 
bestowed  on  the  inhabitants  of  the  South  Sea  islands, 
have  proved  any  thing  like  a  compensation  for  the 
real  evils  which  they  introduced  among  them. 

At  the  glorious  epoqua  in  the  16th  century,  when 
the  Spanish  nation,  favoured  by  a  combination  of  sin- 
gular circumstances,  freely  displayed  the  resources 
of  their  genius  and  the  force  of  their  character,  the 
problem  oi  ^  passage  to  the  north-west ,  and  a  direct 
road  to  the  East  Indies,  occupied  the  minds  of  the 
Castilians  with  the  same  ardour  displayed  by  some 
other  nations  within  these  thirty  or  forty  years.  We 
do  not  allude  to  the  ap(jcryphal  voyages  of  Ferrer 
Mddonado,  Juan  de  Fuca  and  Bartolome  Fonte^  to 
which  for  a  long  time  only  too  much  importance  was 
given.  The  most  part  of  the  impostures  publish- 
ed under  the.  names  of  these  three  navigators  were 
destroyed  by  the  laborious  and  learned  discussions 
of  several  officers  of  the  Spanish  marine.*  In  place 
of  bringing  forward  names  nearly  fal^ulous,  and  lo- 
sing ourselves  in  the  uncertainty  of  hypotheses,  we 
shall  confine  ourselves  to  indicate  here  what  is  incon- 
testibly  proved  by  historical  documents.  The  fol- 
lowing notices  partly  drawn  from  the  manuscript  me- 
moirs of  Don  x^ntonio  Bonilla  and  M.  Casasola,  pre- 
served in  the  archives  of  the  viceroyalty  of  Mexico, 
present  facts  which,  combined  together,  deserve  the 
attention  of  the  reader.  These  notices  displaying,  as 
it  were,  the  varying  picture  of  the  national  actiAity, 

*  Memoir/}  of  Don  Cinaco  Cevofla.9.  Researches  into  tlie 
Archives  of  Seville^  by  Don  .iUi^us/in  Cran.  Historical  Intro- 
duction to  the  Foyagr  of  Gaiiano  and  Faldes,  p.  xlis.  Ivi.  and 
Ixxvi.  Ixxxiii.  Notwithstanding^  all  my  inquiries,  I  coukl 
never  discover  in  Nev/ Spain  a  single  document  in  whicli  the, 
pilot  F'ura  or  the  adininil  Fonte  \vprc  named. 


SHAP.viii.]      KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  049 

sometimes  excited  and  sometimes  palsied,  will  even 
be  interesting  to  those  who  do  not  believe  that  a 
country  inhabited  by  freemen  belongs  to  the  Euro- 
pean nation  who  first  saw  it. 

The  names  of  Cahillo  and  Gali  are  less  celebrated 
than  Fuca  and  Fonte.  The  true  recital  of  a  modest 
navigator  has  neither  the  charm  nor  the  power  which 
accompany  deception.  Juan  Rodriguez  Cabrillo  vi- 
sited the  coast  of  New  Caliiornia  to  the  37"  10 ,  or 
the  Punta  del  Ano  jVuevn,  to  the  north  of  Monterey. 
He  perished  (on  the  3d  January,  1543)  at  the  island 
of  San  Bernardo,  near  the  channel  of  Santa  Barbara.* 
But  Bartolome  Ferrelo,  his  pilot,  continued  his  dis- 
coveries northwards  to  the  43°  of  latitude,  when  he 
saw  the  coast  of  Cape  Blanc  called  by  Vancouver 
Cape  Orford. 

Francisco  Gali,  in  his  voyap:e  from  Macao  to  Aca- 
jpulco,  discovered  in  1582  the  north-west  coast  of 
America  under  the  51^  oO'.  He  admired,  like  all 
those  who  since  his  time  have  visited  New  Cornwall, 
the  beauty  of  those  colossal  mountains,  of  which  the 
summit  is  covered  with  perpetual  snow,  while  their 
bottom  is  covered  with  the  most  beautiful  vegetation. 
On  correctingt  the  old  observations  by  the  new  in 
places  of  which  the  identity  is  ascertained,  we  find 
that  Gali  coasted  part  of  the  archipelago  of  the 
Prince  of  Wales,  or  that  of  King  George.  Sir 
Francis  Drake  only  went  as  far  as  the  48^^  of  latiiude 
to  the  north  of  Cape  Grenviile  in  New  Georgia, 

Of  the  two  expeditions  undertaken  by  Sebastian 
"Viscaino  in  1596  and  1602,  the  last  only  was  directed 

*  According  to  the  manuscript  preserved  in  the  arcn:'vo 
general  de  Indias  at  Madrid. 

t  These  corrections  have  been  al.  v.. .,y  :.;.o-.  ,\\  ■  ,..a.^  ..^ik 
wherever  the  latitudes  of  the  oid  navigator*  are  cited,  Viagc 
dela  Sutii,  p.  xxxi. 

VOL.    II.  li 


250  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  I^ook  m. 

to  the  coast  of  New  California,     Thirty-two  maps, 
drawn  up  at   Mexico   by  the   cosmographer  Henry 
Martinez,*    prove    that    Viscaino    surveyed   these 
coasts  with  more  care  and  more  intelligence  than  was 
ever  done  by  any  pilot  before  him.     The  diseases 
of  his  crew,  the  want  of  provision,  and  ihe  extreme 
rigour  of  the  season,  prevented  him,  however,  from 
ascending  higher  than   Cape  S.   Sebastian,  siiuated 
under  the  42^  of  latitude,  a  little  to  the  north  oi  the 
bay  of  the  Trinity.     One  vessel  of  Viscaino's  expe- 
dition, the  frigate   commanded  by  Antonio  Florez, 
alone  passed  Cape  Mendocino.     This  frigate  reached 
the  mouth  of  a  river   in  the  43'^  of  latitude,  which 
appears  to  have  been  already  discovered  b)  Cabrillo 
in  1543,  and  which  was  believed  by  Martin  de  Agui- 
lar  to    be  the   western  extremity   of  the    Straits  of 
Anian.f     We  must  not  confound  this  entry  or  river 
of  Aguilar,  which  could  not  be  found  again  in  our 
times,  with  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Columbia  (latitude 
46°  15')  celebrate,  d  from  the  voyages  of  Vancouver, 
Gray,  and  Captain  Lewis. 

The  brilliant  epoqua  of  the  discoveries  made  an- 
ciently by  the  Spaniards  on  the  north-west  coast  of 
America  ended  with  Gali  and  Viscaino.  The  his- 
tory of  the  navigations  of  the  17th  century,  and  the 
first  half  of  the  18th,  offers  us  no  expedition  directed 
from  the  coast  of  Mexico  to  the  immense  shore  from 
Cape  Mendocino  to  the  confines  of  eastern  Asia.  In 
place  of  the  Spanish  the  Russian  flag  was  alone  seen 
to  float  in  these  latitudes,  waving  on  the  vessels  com- 

*  The  same  of  whom  we  have  already  spoken  in  the  His- 
tory of  the  Desaguc  Real  de  Huehuctoca. 

t  Th'^  Straits  of  Anian,  confounded  by  many  geographers 
with  Beeiing's  Straits,  meant  in  the  1  6lh  century  Hudson's 
Straits.  It  took  its  name  from  one  of  the  two  brothers  em- 
barked on  board  the  vessel  of  Gasper  de  Cortercal.  Sto  the 
learned  researches  of  M.  de  Flcuri..u  in  the  historical  intro- 
duction to  the   Foya^e  de  Alarchand,  T.  i.  p.  v. 


r.HAP.  VIII.]         KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  251 

manded   by   two    intrepid  navigators,  Beerlng  and 
Tschincow. 

At  length,  after  an  interruption  of  nearly  170 
years,  the  court  of  Madrid  again  turned  its  attcniion 
to  the  coast  of  the  Great  Ocean.  But  it  was  not 
alone  the  desire  of  discoveries  useful  to  science 
which  roused  the  government  from  its  lethargy. 
It  was  rather  the  fear  of  being  attacked  in  its  most 
northern  possessions  of  New  Spain ;  it  was  the 
dread  of  seeing  European  establishments  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  those  of  California.  Of  all  the 
Spanish  expeditions  undertaken  between  1774  and 
1792  the  two  last  alone  bear  the  true  character  of 
expeditions  of  discovery.  They  were  commanded 
by  oflicers  whose  labours  display  an  intimate  ac- 
quaintance v.'ith  miutical  astrononi}'.  The  names  of 
Alexander  Malaspina,  Galiano,  Espinosa,  Valdez, 
and  Vernaci,  will  ever  hold  an  honourable  place  in 
the  list  of  the  intelligent  and  intrepid  navi^uvors  to 
whom  we  owe  an  exact  knowledge  of  the  north-west 
coast  of  the  new  continent.  It  their  predecessors 
could  not  give  the  same  pertection  to  their  operations, 
it  was  because,  setting  out  from  San  Bias  or  Monte- 
rey, they  were  unprovided  with  instruments  and  the 
other  means  furnished  by  civilized  Europe. 

The  first  imj)ortant  expedition  made  after  the 
voyage  of  \''iscaino  was  that  of  Juan  Perez^  who 
commanded  the  corvette  Santiago,  formerly  called 
la  Nueva  Galicia.  As  neither  Cook  nor  Barrino-- 
ton,  nor  M.  de  Fleurieu,  appear  to  have  had  any 
knowledge  of  this  important  voyage,  I  shall  here 
extract  several  facts  irom  a  manuscript  journal,*  for 
which  I  am  indebted  to  the  kindness  of  M.  Don 
Guiilermo  Aguine,  a  member  of  the  audiencia  of 

'^  This  journal  was  kept  by  two  monks,  Fniy  Juan  Crespi, 
and  Fray  Tomas  de  la  Pciia,  embarked  on  board  the  Saniiasro, 
By  these  details  miy  be  completed  w!\at  was  published  in  the- 
voyage  of  la  Sutil,  p.  xcii. 


252  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  in. 

Mexico.  Perez  and  his  pilot,  Estevan  Jose  Marti- 
nez, left  the  port  of  San  Bias  on  the  24th  Januarj^ 
1774.  They  were  ordered  to  examine  all  the  coast 
from  the  port  of  San  Carlos  de  Monterey  to  the  60-' 
of  latitude.  After  touching  at  Monterey  they  set 
sail  again  on  the  7th  June,  They  discovered  on 
the  20th  July  the  island  de  la  Marguerite,  (which  is 
the  north-west  point  of  Queen  Charlotte's  Island,) 
and  the  strait  which  separates  this  island  from  that  of 
the  Prince  of  Wales.  On  the  9th  August  they  an- 
chored,  the  first  of  all  the  European  navigators^  in 
Nootka  road,  which  they  called  the  port  of  San  Lo- 
renzo ^"^  and  which  the  illustrious  Cook  four  years 
afterwards  called  King  George^s  Sound.  They  car- 
ried on  barter  with  the  natives,  among  vrhom  they 
saw  iron  and  copper.  They  gave  them  axes  and 
knives  for  skins  and  otter  furso  Perez  could  not 
land  on  account  of  the  rough  weather  and  high  seas. 
His  sloop  was  even  on  the  point  of  being  lost  in  at- 
tempting to  land ;  and  the  corvette  was  obliged  to 
cut  its  cables  and  to  abandon  its  anchors  to  get  into 
the  open  sea.  The  Indians  stole  several  articles  be- 
longing to  M.  Perez  and  his  crew;  and  this  circum- 
stance, related  in  the  journal  of  Father  Crespi,  ma)- 
serve  to  resolve  the  famous  difficulty  attending  the 
European  silver  spoons  found  there  by  Captain  Cook 
in  1778  in  the  possession  of  the  Indians  of  Nootka^ 
The  corvette  Santiago  returned  to  Monterey  on  the 
27th  August,  1774,  after  a  cruize  of  eight  months. 

In  the  following  year  a  second  expedition  set  out 
from  San  Bias,  under  the  command  of  Don  Bruno 
Heceta^  Don  Juan  de  Ayala^  and  Don  Juan  de  la  Bo- 
dega y  Quadra.  This  voyage,  which  singularly  ad- 
vanced the  discovery  of  the  north-west  coast,  is  known 
from  the  journal  of  the  pilot  Maurelle,  published  by 
M.  Barrington,  and  joined  to  the  instructions  of  the 

*  The  entrada  de  Ptrez  of  the  Spanish  maps. 


CHAP,  vin.]     KINGDOxM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  ^53 

unfortunate  Liipcrousc.  Quadra  discovered  the 
mouth  of  the  Rio  Columbia,  called  eutrada  de 
Heceta^  the  pic  of  San  Jacinto,  (Mount  Edgecumbe,) 
near  Norfolk  Buy,  and  the  fine  port  ot  Bucarcli 
^latitude  55«  24')  which  from  the  researches  of  V^an- 
couver  we  know  to  belong  to  the  west  coast  of  the 
great  island  of  the  archipelago  of  the  Prince  of 
Wales.  This  port  is  surrounded  by  seven  volcanoes, 
of  which  the  summits,  covered  with  perpetual  snow, 
throw  up  flames  and  ashes.  M.  Quadra  found 
there  a  great  number  of  dogs  which  the  Indians  use 
for  hunting.  I  possess  two  very  curious  small 
maps*  engraved  in  1788,  in  the  city  of  Mexico, 
which  give  the  bearings  of  the  coast  from  the  17" 
to  the  58"  of  latitude,  as  they  were  discovered  in  the 
expedition  of  Quadra, 

The  court  of  Madrid  gave  orders  in  1776  to  the 
viceroy  of  Mexico,  to  prepare  a  new  expedition  to 
examine  the  coast  of  America  to  the  70''  of  north 
latitude.  For  this  purpose  two  corvettes  were  built, 
la  Princesa  and  la  Favorita;  but  this  building  expe- 
rienced such  delay,  that  the  expedition  commanded 
by  Quadra  and  Don  Ignacio  Arteap;a,  could  not  set 
sail  from  the  port  of  San  Bias  till  the  1 1th  February, 

*  Carta  geografica  de  la  costa  occidental  de  la  California, 
situada  al  Norte  de  la  linea  sobrc  el  mar  Asiatico  que  se  dis- 
cubrio  en  los  anos  de  1769  y  1775,  por  el  Tetiieiite  de  N'.ivio, 
Don  Juan  Francisco  de  Bodega  y  Quadra  y  por  el  Aiferez  de 
Fragata,  Don  Jose  Canizares,  desdt;  los  17  hasta  los  58  grades. 
On  this  map  the  coast  appears  almost  withcuit  cntradas  and 
without  islands.  We  remark  I'enscnada  dc  Ezcta  (Rio 
Colombia)  and  I'entrada  de  Juan  Perez,  but  under  the  name 
of  the  port  of  San  Lorenzo,  (Nootka,)  seen  by  the  same  Pi;i'ez 
in  1774.  Plan  del  gran  puerto  de  San  Francisco  discubicrto 
por  Don  Jose  de  Canizares  en  el  mar  Asiatico.  Vancouver 
distinguishes  the  ports  of  St.  Francis,  Sir  Francis  Drake,  and 
Bodega,  as  three  different  ports.  M.  de  Fleurieu  considers 
them  as  identical.  Voyage  de  Marchand,  vol.  i.  p.  liv. 
Quadra  believes,  as  w6  have  already  observed,  that  Di'akc 
anchored  at  the  port  de  la  Bodega. 


254  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  hi- 

1 779.  During  this  interval  Cook  visited  the  same 
coctst.  Quadra  and  the  pilot  Don  Francisco  Mau- 
retie  carelully  examined  the  port  de  Bucarcli,  the 
Mont-Sant  Elie,  and  the  island  de  la  Magdalena, 
called  by  Vancouver  Hinchinbrook  Island,  (latitude 
60"^  25',)  situated  at  the  entry  of  Prince  -Wiiiiam's  bay 
and  the  island  of  Regla,  one  of  the  most  sterile  islands 
in  Cook  river.  The  expedition  returned  to  San 
Bias  on  the  21st  November,  1779.  I  find  from  a 
manuscrii;t  procured  at  Mexico,  that  the  schistous 
rocks  in  the  vicinity  of  the  port  of  Bucareli  in  Prince 
of  Wales's  Island  contain  metal hferous  seams. 

Tiie  memorable  war  which  gave  libert}'  to  a  great 
part  of  North  America  prevented  the  viceroys  of 
Mexico  from  pursuing  expeditions  of  discovery  to 
the  north  of  Mendocino.  The  court  of  Madrid 
gave  orders  to  suspend  the  expeditions  so  lovig  as 
the  hostilities  should  endure  between  Spain  and 
England.  This  interruption  continued  even  long 
after  the  peace  of  Versailles  ;  and  it  was  iiot  till  1788 
that  two  Spanish  vessels,  the  frigate  la  Princesa  and 
the  packet-boat  San  Carlos^  commanded  by  Don 
Esteban  Martinez  and  Don  Gonzalo  Lopez  de  Haro, 
left  the  port  of  San  Bias  with  a  design  of  examining 
the  position  and  state  of  the  Russian  establishments 
on  the  north-west  coast  of  America.  The  existence 
of  these  establishments,  of  which  it  appears  that  the 
court  of  Madrid  had  no  knowledge  till  after  the  pub- 
lication of  the  third  voyage  of  the  illustrious  Cook, 
gave  the  greatest  uneasiness  to  the  Spanish  govern- 
ment.    It  saw  with  chag-rin  that  the  fur  trade  drew 

_  o 

numerous  English,  French,  and  American  vessels 
towards  a  coast  which,  before  the  return  of  Lieutenant 
King  to  London,  had  been  as  little  frequented  by 
Europeans  as  the  land  of  the  Nuyts,  or  that  of  En- 
drachr  in  New  Holland. 

The  expedition  of  Martinez  and  Haro  lasted  from 
the  «th  March  to  the  5th  December,  178S.     These 
4 


LHAP.  vur.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPA^.  255 

navigators  made  the  cVirect  route  from  San  Bias  to 
the  entry  oi  P-'iiice  WiUiam,  ealletl  by  the  Russians 
the  gulf  TschiigatsJaija.  They  visited  Cook  river, 
the  Kiclitak  (Rodiak)  islands,  Sc/iunicigiri,  Unima/c, 
■and  Una/aschka,  (Onalaska.)  They  were  very  friend- 
ly treated  in  tiie  different  faeiories  whicii  they  found 
established  in  Cook  river  and  Unalaschka,  and  they 
even  reeeived  communication  of  several  ma})s  drawn 
up  by  the  Russians  of  theae  latitudes.  1  fouiul  in 
the  archives  of  the  viceroyalty  of  Mexico  a  large 
volume  in  folio,  bearing  the  title  of  Ixiconocimieuto 
dc  los  quatros  est  able  cimicntos  Jlus.ws  al  JK'orte  (Ij 
la  Ca/ijbniia,  hecho  en  1788.  The  historical  accoun: 
of  the  voyage  of  Martinez  contained  in  this  manu- 
script furnishes,  hov/ever,  very  few  data  relative  to 
the  Russian  colonies  in  the  new  continent.  No  per- 
son in  the  crew  understanding  a  word  of  the  Rus- 
sian language,  they  could  only  make  themselves  un- 
derstood by  signs.  They  forgot,  before  undertaking 
this  distant  expedition,  to  bring  an  interpreter  from 
Europe.  The  evil  was  ^vithout  remedy.  However, 
M.  Martinez  would  have  had  as  great  difficulty  in 
finding  a  Russian  in  the  whole  extent  of  Spanish 
America  as  Sir  George  Staunton  had  to  discover  u 
Chinese  in  England  or  France. 

Since  the  voyages  of  Cook,  Dixon,  Portloek, 
Mears,  and  Duncan,  the  Europeans  began  to  consider 
the  port  of  Nootka  as  the  principal  fur  market  of  the 
north-west  coast  of  North  America.  This  consider- 
ation induced  the  court  of  Madrid  to  do  in  ITSU 
what  it  could  easier  have  done  15  years  sooner,  im- 
mediately after  the  voyage  of  Juan  Ferez.  M.  Mar- 
tinez,  who  had  been  visiting  the  Russian  factories, 
received  orders  to  make  a  solid  establishment  at 
Nootka,  and  to  examine  carefully  that  part  of  tht 
coast  comprised  between  the  50'  and  the  55"  of  lati- 
tude, which  captain  Cook  could  not  survey  in  the 
course  of  his  navigation. 


256  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  hi. 

The  port  of  Nootka  is  on  the    eastern  coast    of 
an  island,  which,  according  to  the  survey  in  1791  by 
MM.  Espinosa  and  Cevallos^  is  twenty  marine  miles 
in  breadth,  and  which  is  separated  by  the  channel  of 
Tasis  from  the  great  island,  now  called  the  island  of 
Quadra  and  Vancouver.     It  is  therefore  equally  false 
to  assert  that  the  port  of  Nootka,  called  by  the  natives 
YucuatU  belongs  to  the  great  island  ol  Quadra,  as  it 
is  inaccurate  to  say  that  Cape  Horn  is  the  extremity 
of  Terra  del  Fuego.     We  cannot  conceive  by  what 
misconception  the  illustrious  Cook  could  convert  the 
name  of  Yucuatl  into  Nootka:^  this  last  word  being 
unknown  to  the  natives  of  the  country,  and  having 
no  analogy  to  any  of  the  words  of  their  language  ex- 
cepting Noutchi^  which  signilics  mountain.! 

*  There  does  not  seem  to  be  any  difficulty  in  the  matter. 
It  is  very  easy  for  any  one  at  all  acquninted  with  the  embar- 
rassment experienced  by  the  ear  in  catching,  and,  as  it  were, 
disentangling  the  sounds  of  a  foreign  language,  to  conceive 
that  when  the  common  standard  of  writing  cannot  be  resorted 
to,  hardly  two  persons  will  report  the  same  word  alike.  In 
languages  even  already  familiar  to  us  by  writing,  it  requires  a' 
long  experience  before  we  can  follow  the  conversation  of  the 
natives;  what  must  it  therefore  be  in  languages  affording  no 
feuch  assistance,  and  of  which  many  of  the  sounds  are  new  to 
European  ears.  Thus  Captain  Cook  and  Mr.  Anderson,  a 
surgeon  in  his  expedition,  hardly  agree  in  the  representation 
of  any  one  word.  It  would  appear,  however,  from  what  is 
said  of  Captain  Cook  by  Mr.  King,  that  his  ear  was  by  no 
means  very  accurate  in  distinguishing  sounds.     Trans. 

t  Memoire  de  Don  Francisco  Mozino.  The  worthy  au- 
thor was  one  of  the  botanists  of  the  expedition  of  M.  Sesse, 
and  remained  at  Nootka  with  M.  Quadra  in  1792.  Wishing 
to  procure  every  possible  information  with  regard  to  the  north- 
west coast  of  North  America,  I  made  extracts  in  1803  from 
the  manuscript  of  M.  Mozino,  for  which  I  was  indebted  to 
the  friendship  of  professor  Cervantes,  director  of  the  botanical 
garden  at  Mexico.  I  have  since  discovered  that  the  same 
memoir  furnished  materials  to  the  learned  compiler  of  the 
Viage  dc  la  SuCil,  p.  123.  Notwithstanding  the  accurate  in- 
iovn^aiion  which  we  owe  to  the  English  and  French   iiaviga- 


CHAP.viii.]  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  257 

Don  Esteban  Martinez,  commanding  the  frigate 
La  Princesa,  and  the  packet-boat  San  Carlos,  an- 
chored in  the  port  of  Nootka  on  the  5th  May,  1789. 
He  was  received  in  a  very  fr.endly  manner  by  the  chief 
Macuiiia,  who  recollected  very  well  having  seen  him 
with  M.  Perez  in  1774,  and  who  even  showed  the 
beautiful  Monterey  shells  Which  were  then  presented 
to  him.  Macuina,  the  tays  of  the  island  of  Yucuatl, 
has  an  absolute  authority ;  he  is  the  Montezuma  of 
these  countries  ;  and  his  name  has  become  celebrated 
among  all  the  nations  who  carry  on  the  sea- otter  skin 
trade.  I  know  not  if  Macuina  yet  lives ;  but  we 
learned  at  Mexico  in  the  end  of  1803,  by  letters  from 
Monterey,  that  more  jealous  of  his  independence  than 
the  king  of  the  Sandwich  Islands,  who  has  declared 
himself  the  vassal  of  England,  he  was  endeavouring 
to  procure  fire-arms  and  powder  to  protect  himself 
from  the  insults  to  which  he  wss  frequently  exposed 
by  European  navigators. 

The  port  of  Santa  Cruz  of  Nootka  (called  Puerto 
de    San  Lorenzo   by  Perez,  and  Friemlly-covc  h\ 

tors,  it  would  still  be  interesting  to  publish  the  observations 
of  M.  Mozino  on  the  manners  of  the  Indians  of  Nootka. 
These  observations  embrace  a  great  number  of  cur'ous  sub- 
jects, viz.  the  union  of  the  civil  and  ecclesiastical  power  in  the 
persons  of  the  princes  or  tays;  the  struggle  between  Quautz 
and  Matlox,  the  good  and  bad  principle  by  which  the  world 
is  governed  ;  the  origin  of  the  human  species  at  an  cpoquu 
when  stags  were  without  horns,  birds  without  wings,  and 
dogs  without  tails;  the  Eve  of  the  Nootkians,  who  lived  so- 
litary in  a  flovv^ery  grove  of  Yucuatl,  when  the  god  Quautz 
visited  her  in  a  fine  copper  canoe ;  the  education  of  the  first 
man,  who,  as  he  grew  up,  past  from  one  small  shell  to  a 
greater ;  the  genealogy  of  the  nobility  of  Nootka,  who  descend 
from  the  oldest  son  of  the  man  brought  up  in  a  shell,  while 
the  rest  of  the  people  (who  even  in  the  other  -world  have  a 
separate  paradise  called  Pinfiula)  dare  not  trace  their  origin 
farther  back  than  to  younger  branches  ;  the  calendar  of  the 
Nootkians,  in  which  the  year  begins  with  the  summer  sol- 
stice, and  is  divided  into  fourteen  months  of  20  days,  and  u 
great  number  of  intercalated  days  added  to  the  end  of  several 
months,  See.  &c, 

VOL,  II,  K  k 


258  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  in. 

Cook)  is  from  seven  to  eight  fathoms  in  depth.*  It 
is  almost  shut  in  on  the  south- east  by  small  islands, 
on  one  of  which  Martinez  erected  the  battery  of  San 
Miguel.  The  mountains  in  die  interior  of  the  island 
appear  to  be  composed  of  thonschiefer^  and  other 
primitive  rocks.  M.  Mozino  discovered  among 
them  seams  of  copper  and  sulphuretted  lead.  He 
thought  he  discovered  near  a  lake  at  about  a  quarter 
of  a  league's  distance  from  the  port  the  effects  of 
volcanic  fire  in  some  porous  amygdaloid.  The  cli- 
mate of  Nootka  is  so  mild,  that  under  a  more  north- 
ern latitude  than  that  of  Quebec  and  Paris  the  small- 
est streams  are  not  frozen  till  the  month  of  January. 
This  curious  phenomenon  confirms  the  observation 
of  Max:kenzie,t  who  asserts  that  the  north-west  coast 
of  the  new  continent  has  a  much  higher  temperature 
than  the  eastern  coasts  of  America  and  Asia  situated 
under  the  same  parallels.  The  inhabitants  of  Nootka, 
like  those  of  the  northern  coast  of  Norway,  are  almost 
strangers  to  the  noise  of  thunder.  Electrical  explo- 
sions are  there  exceedingly  rare.  The  hills  are  co- 
vered with  pine,  oak,  cypress,  rose  bushes,  vaccinium, 
and  andromedes.  The  beautiful  shrub  which  bears 
the  name  of  Linneus  was  only  discovered  by  the  gar- 
deners in  Vancouver's  expedition  in  higher  latitudes. 
John  Mears,  and  a  Spanish  officer  in  particular,  Don 
Pedro  Alberoni,  succeeded  at  Nootka  in  the  cultiva- 
tion of  all  the  European  vegetables ;  but  the  maize 

*  From  nearly  7  1-2  to   3  1-2  futhoir.s  English.    Trans, 

■\  Voyage  dc  Mackenzie,  traduit par  Castera,  vol.  III.  p.  339. 
It  is  even  believed  by  the  Indians  in  the  vicinity  of  the  north- 
west coast  that  the  winters  are  becoming  milder  yearly.  This 
mildness  of  climate  appears  to  be  produced  by  the  north-west 
v;iiids,  which  pass  over  a  consider:>ble  extent  of  sea.  M. 
Mackenzie,  as  well  as  myself,  believes,  that  the  change  of 
climate  observable  throughout  all  North  America  cannot  be 
attributed  to  petty  local  causes,  to  tlie  destruction  of  forest* 
for  exumplti. 


CHAP.  VIII.]  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SI*AIN.  259 

and  wheat,  however,  never  yielded  ripe  grain.  A 
too  great  luxuriance  of  vegetation  appears  to  be  the 
cause  of  this  phenomenon.  The  true  humming- 
bird has  been  observed  in  the  islands  of  Quadra  and 
Vancouver.  This  important  fact  in  the  geography 
of  animals  must  strike  those  who  are  ignorant  that 
Mackenzie  saw  humming-birds  at  the  sources  of 
the  River  of  Peace  under  the  54^*  24'  of  north  lati- 
tude, and  that  M.  Galiano  saw  them  nearly  under 
the  same  southern  parallel  in  the  Straits  of  Magel- 
lan. 

Martinez  did  not  carry  his  researches  beyond  the 
50"  of  latitude.  Two  months  after  his  entry  into 
the  port  of  Nootka  he  saw  the  arrival  of  an  English 
vessel,  the  Argonaut,  commanded  by  James  Collnett, 
known  by  his  observations  at  the  Galapagos  islands. 
Collnett  showed  the  Spanish  navigator  the  orders 
which  he  had  received  from  his  government  to  esta- 
blish a  factory  at  Nootka,  to  construct  a  frigate  and  a 
cutter,  and  to  prevent  every  other  p],uropean  nation 
from  interfering  with  the  fur  trade.*  It  was  in  vain 
Martinez  replied,  that,  long  before  Cook,  Juan  Pe- 
rez had  anchored  on  the  same  coast.  The  dispute 
which  arose  between  the  commanders  of  the  Argo- 
naut and  the  Princesa  was  on  the  point  of  occasion, 
ing  a  rupture  between  the  courts  of  London  and  Ma- 
drid. Martinez,  to  establish. the  priority  of  his  rights 
made  use  of  a  violent  and  very  illegal  measure  :  he 
arrested  Collnett,  and  sent  him  l^y  San  Bias  to  the 
city  of  Mexico.  The  true  proprietor  of  the  Nootka 
country,  the  Tays  Macuina,  declared  himself  pru- 
dently for  the  vanquishing  party ;  but  the  viceroy, 
who  deemed  it  proper  to  hasten  the  recall  of  Marti- 

*  There  had  been  formed  in  England  in  17«5  a  Nootka 
company,  under  the  name  of  the  King  George's  Sound  Com- 
pany ;  and  a  project  was  even  entertained  of  forming  at  Nootka 
an  English  colony  similar  to  that  of  New  Holland. 


260  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  ni. 

nez,  sent  out  three  other  armed  vessels  in  the  com- 
mencement of  the  year  1790  to  the  north-west  coast 
of  America. 

Don  Francisco  Elisa  and  Don  Salvador  FidalgOy  the 
brother  ot  the  astronomer  who  surveyed  tiie  coast 
of  South  America*  from  the  mouth  of  the  Dragon 
to  Portobello,  commanded  this  new  expedition.  M. 
Fidaigo  visited  Cook  Creek  and  Prince  William's 
Sound,  and  he  completed  the  examination  of  that 
coast,  which  was  only  afterwards  examined  by  the 
intrepid  Vancouver.  Under  the  60°  54'  of  latitude, 
at  the  northern  extremity  of  Prince  William's  Sound, 
M.  Fidiiigo  was  witness  of  a  phenomenon,  probably 
volcanic,  of  a  most  extraordinary  nature.  The  In- 
dians conducted  him  into  a  plain  covered  with  snow, 
where  he  saw  great  masses  of  ice  and  stone  thrown 
up  to  prodigious  heights  in  the  air  with  a  dreadful 
noise.  Don  Francisco  Elisa  remained  at  Nootka  to 
enlarge  and  fortil)'  the  establishment  founded  by  Mar- 
tinez in  the  preceding  year.  It  was  not  yet  known 
in  this  part  of  die  world,  that  by  a  treaty  signed  at 
the  Escurial  on  the  28th  October,  1790,  Spain  had 
desisted  from  her  pretensions  to  Nootka  and  Cox 
Channel  in  favour  of  the  court  of  I^ondon.  The 
frigate  Dedaltis,  which  brought  orders  to  Vancouver 
to  watch  over  die  execution  of  this  treat}^  only  ar- 
rived at  the  port  of  Nootka  in  the  month  of  August, 
1792,  at  an  epoqua  when  Fidaigo  was  employed  in 
forming  a  second  Spanish  establishment  to  the  south- 
east of  the  island  of  Quadra  on  the  continent,  at  the 
port  of  JVnnez  Gaona,  or  Qimiicamet,  situated  under 
the  48"  20'  of  latitude,  at  the  creek  of  Juan  de  Fuca. 

The  expedition  of  Captain  Elisa  was  followed  by 
two  others,  which,  for  the  impoi'tance  of  their  astro- 
nomical operations,  and  the  excellence  of  the  instru- 

*  See  my  Recueil   d'Observations  Astronomiques,  vol.  i. 
liv.  i. 


€UAP.  VIII. ]  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  261 

incuts  with  \vhich  they  were  provided,  uv<\y  be  com- 
pared with  the  expeditions  of  Cook,  Laperouse,  and 
Vancouver.  I  mean  the  voyage  ot  the  illustrious 
JMalaspina,  in  1791,  and  that  of  Galiano  and  Fa/des, 
in  1792. 

The  operations  of  Malaspina  and  the  officers  un- 
der him,  embrace  an  immense  extent  of  coast  from 
the  mouth  of  the  Rio  de  la  Plata  to  Prince  William's 
Sound.  But  this  able  navigator  is  still  more  cele- 
brated for  his  misfortunes  than  his  discoveries.  After 
examining  both  hemispheres,  and  escaping  all  the 
dangers  of  the  ocean,  he  had  still  greater  to  suffer 
from  his  court ;  and  he  dragged  out  six  years  in  a 
dungeon,  the  victim  of  a  political  intrigue.  He  ob- 
tained his  liberty  from  the  French  government,  and 
returned  to  his  native  country;  and  he  enjoys  in  soM- 
tude  on  the  banks  of  the  Arno  the  profound  impres- 
sions which  the  contemplations  of  nature  and  the 
study  of  man  under  so  many  different  climates  have 
left  on  a  mind  of  great  sensibility,  tried  in  the  school 
of  adversity. 

The  labours  of  Malaspina  remain  buried  in  the 
archives,  not  because  the  government  dreaded  the 
disclosure  of  secrets,  the  concealment  of  which  might 
be  deemed  useful,  but  that  the  name  of  this  intrepid 
navigator  might  be  doomed  to  eternal  oblivion.  For- 
tunately, the  directors  of  the  Deposito  Hydrograjico 
of  Madrid*  have  communicated  to  the  public  the 
principal  results  of  the  astronomical  observations  of 
Malaspina's  expedition.  The  charts  which  have  ap- 
peared at  Madrid  since  1799,  are  founded  in  a  great 
measure  on  those  important  results ;  but  instead  of 
the  name  of  the  chief,  we  merely  find  the  names  of 
the  corvettes  la  Descubierta  and  PAt7'cvida,  which 
were  commanded  by  Malaspina. 

*  This  de/iosito  was  established  by  a  royal  order  on  the  6th 
August,  1797. 


262  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  iii. 

His  expedition,*  which  set  out  from  Cadiz  on  the 
30th  July,  1789,  only  arrived  at  the  port  of  Aca- 
pulco,  on  the  2d  February,  1791.  At  this  period 
the  court  of  Madrid  again  turned  its  attention  to  a 
subject  which  had  been  under  dispute  in  the  begin- 
ning of  the  17th  century,  the  pretended  straits  by 
which  Lorenzo  Ferrer  Maldonado  passed  in  1588 
from  the  Labrador  coast  to  the  Great  Ocean.  A 
inemoir  read  by  M.  Buache  at  the  Academy  of  Sci- 
ences revived  the  hope  of  the  existence  of  such  a 
passage  ;  and  the  corvettes  la  Descubierta  and  1' Atre- 
vida,  received  orders  to  ascend  to  high  latitudes  on 
the  north-west  coast  of  America,  and  to  examine  all 
the  passages  and  creeks  which  interrupt  the  conti- 
nuity of  the  shore  between  the  53*^  and  60"  of  latitude. 
Malaspina,  accompanied  by  the  botanists  Haenke  and 
Nee,  set  sail  from  Acapulco  on  the  1st  May,  1791. 
After  a  navigation  of  three  weeks,  he  reached  Cape 
S.  Bartholomew,  which  had  already  been  ascertained 
by  Quadra  in  1775,  by  Cook  in  1778,  and  in  1786 
by  Dixon.  He  surveyed  the  coast,  from  the  moun- 
tain of  San  Jacinto,  near  Cape  Edgecumbe,  [Cabo  En- 
gano,)  lat.  57°  1'  30"  to  Montagu  Island,  opposite  the 
entrance  of  Prince  William's  Sound.  During  the 
course  of  this  expedition,  the  length  of  the  pendulum 
and  the  inclination  and  declination  of  the  magnetic 
needle  were  determined  on  several  points  of  the 
coast.     The  elevation  of  S.  Elief  and  Mount  Fair- 


*  Extract  from  a  journal  kcfit  on  board  the  jitrevida,  a 
manuscript  preserved  in  ihc  archives  of  Mexico.  Fiag'e  dc 
la  Sutil,  p.  cxiii — cxxiii.  Before  the  expedition  in  1789, 
M.  Malaspinii  had  ah'eady  been  round  the  globe  in  the  frigate 
VAstre^  destined  for  Muniila. 

•t  The  expedition  of  Malaspina  found  the  height  of  Mount 
Elie  5,44!  metres,  (6507.6  varas,)  and  the  height  of  Mount 
Fair-weather  4,489,  (5368.3  varas,)  consequently  the  elevation 
of  the  former  of  these  mountains  is  nearly  the  same  as  that  of 
Colcpr.xi ;  and  the  elevatioa  of  the  iccuiid  is  equal  to  that  of 


CHAP.  VIII.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  2G3 

weather,  (or  Cerro  de  bitcn  Tempo ^  which  are  the 
principal  summits  of  the  Cordillera  of  New  Nor- 
folk, were  very  carefully  nica^ured.  The  know- 
ledge of  their  height  and  position  may  be  of  great 
assistance  to  navigators  when  they  are  prevented  by 
unfavourable  weather  from  seeing  the  sun  for  whole 
weeks ;  for  by  seeing  tliese  pics  at  a  distance  of 
eighty  or  a  himdied  miles,  they  may  ascertain  the 
position  of  their  vessel  by  simple  elevations  and  an- 
gles of  altitude. 

After  a  vain  attempt  to  discover  the  straits  men- 
tioned in  the  account  of  the  apocryphal  voyage  of 
Alaldonado,  and  after  remaining  some  time  at  Port 
Mulgrave,  in  Beering's  Bay,  (lat.  59"  34'  20",)  Alex- 
ander  Malaspina  directed  his  course  southwards.  He 
anchored  at  the  port  of  Nootka  on  the  13th  August, 
sounded  tlie  channels  round  the  island  of  Yucuatl, 
and  determined  by  observations  purely  celestial  the 
positions  of  Nootka,  Monterey,  and  the  island  of 
Guadaloupe,  at  which  the  galleon  of  the  Philippines 
{la  Nao  de  C/i'mci)  generally  stops,  and  Cape  San 
Lucas.  The  corvette  I'Atrevida  entered  Acapulco, 
and  the  corvette  h  Descubierta  entered  San  Bias  in 
the  month  of  October,   1791. 

A  voyage  of  six  months  was  no  doubt  by  no 
means  sufficient  for  discovering  and  surveying  an  ex- 
tensive coast  with  that  minute  care  which  we  admire 
in  the  voyage  of  Vancouver,  which  lasted  three 
years.  However,  the  expedition  of  Malaspina  has 
one  particular  merit,  which  consists  not  only  in  the 
number  of  astronomical  observations,  but  also  in  the 
judicious  method  employed  for  attaining  certain  re- 
sults.    The  longitude  and  latitude  of  four  points  of 

Mont-Rose.  See  vol.  i.  p.  48.  and  my  Geografihie  des  Plantety 
p.   153.      Author. 

The  height  of  the  first  of  tliese  mountains  is  17,850,  and 
of  the  second,  14,992  feet  English.     Trans. 


264  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  in. 

the  coast,  Cape  San  Lucas,  Monterey,  Nootka,  and 
Port  Mulgrave,  were  ascertained  in  an  absolute 
manner.  The  intermediate  points  were  connected 
with  these  fixed  points  by  means  of  four  sea- watches 
of  Arnold.  This  method,  employed  by  the  officers 
of  Malaspina's  expedition,  MM.  Espinosa^  CevalloSj 
and  Vernaci^  is  much  better  than  the  partial  correc- 
tions usually  made  in  chronometrical  longitudes  by 
the  results  of  lunar  distances. 

The  celebrated  Malaspina  had  scarcely  returned  to 
the  coast  of  Mexico,  when,  discontented  with  not 
having  seen  at  a  sufficient  nearness  the  extent  of  coast 
from  the  island  of  Nootka  to  Cape  Mendocino,  he 
engaged  Count  de  Revillagigedo,  the  viceroy,  to  pre- 
pare a  new  expedition  of  discovery  towards  the 
north-west  coast  of  America.  The  viceroy,  who  was 
of  an  active  and  enterprising  disposition,  yielded  with 
so  much  the  greater  facility  to  this  desire,  as  new  in- 
formation, received  from  the  officers  stationed  at 
Nootka,  seemed  to  give  probability  to  the  existence 
of  a  channel,  of  which  the  discovery  was  attributed 
to  the  Greek  pilot,  Juan  de  Fuca,  in  the  end  of  the 
16th  century.  Martinez  had  indeed,  in  1774,  per- 
ceived a  very  broad  opening  under  the  48°  20'  of  la- 
titude. This  opening  was  successively  visited  by  the 
pilot  of  the  Gertrudis,  by  Ensign  Don  Manuel 
Quimper,  who  commanded  the  Bilander  la  Prin-- 
cesa  Real,  and  in  1791  by  Captain  Elisa.  They 
even  discovered  secure  and  spacious  ports  in  it.  It 
was  to  complete  this  survey  that  the  galeras  Sutil2iX\^ 
Mexicana  left  Acapulco  on  the  8th  March,  1792, 
under  the  command  of  Don  Dionisio  Galiano  and 
Don  Cayetano  Valdcs. 

These  able  and  experienced  astronomers,  accom- 
panied by  MM.  Salamanca  and  Vernaci,  sailed  round 
the  large  island  which  now  bears  the  name  of  Quadra 
and  Vancouver^  and  they  employed  four  months  in  this 
laborious  and  dangerous  navigation.  After  passing  the 


CKAP.  VI II.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  265 

straits  of  Fuca  and  Haro,  tliey  fell  in  with,  in  the 
channel  del  Rosario,  called  by  the  Enij;lish  the  Gulf 
of  Georgia,  the  English  navigators  Vancouver  and 
BroughtoUy  employed  in  the  same  researches  with 
themselves.  The  two  expeditions  made  a  mutual 
and  unreserved  comnmnicMion  of  their  labours  ;  they 
assisted  one  another  in  their  operations  ;  and  there 
subsisted  among  them  till  the  moment  of  their  se- 
paration, a  good  intelligence  and  complete  harmony, 
of  which,  at  another  epoqua,  an  example  had  not 
been  set  by  the  astronomers  on  the  ridge  of  the 
Cordilleras. 

Galiano,  and  Valdes,  on  their  return  from  Nootka 
to  Monterey,  a.eain  ex  unincd  the  mouth  of  the  As- 
eencion  which  Don  Bruno  Eceta  dibcovered  on  the 
17th  August,  1775,  and  which  was  called  the  river 
of  Columbia  by  the  celebrated  American  U'vigator 
Gray,  from  the  name  of  the  sloop  under  his  com- 
mand. This  examination  was  of  so  much  the  greater 
importance,  as  Vancouver,  who  had  already  kept 
very  close  to  this  coast,  was  unable  to  perceive  any 
entrance  from  the  45°  of  latitude  to  the  channel  of 
Fuca ;  and  as  this  learned  navigator  bcgaii  then  to 
doubt  of  the  existence  of  the  .Rio  de  Colombia,* 
or  the  Entrada  de  Eceta. 

*  I  have  already  spoken  (vol.  I.  p.  15.)  of  the  facility  which 
the  fertile  banks  of  the  Colombia  affords  to  Europeans  for  the 
founding  a  colony,  and  of  the  doubts  started  against  the 
identity  of  this  river  and  the  Tacoutche-Tesse,  or  Orcgmi  of 
Mackenzie.  1  know  not  whether  this  Oregan  enters  into  one 
of  the  great  salt- water  lakes,  which,  according  to  the  infor- 
mation afforded  by  Father  Escalante,  I  have  represented  under 
tlte  390  and41o  of  latitude.  1  do  not  decide  whether  or  not 
the  Oregan,  lik'^-  many  great  rivers  of  South  America,  does 
not  force  a  passage  through  a  chain  of  elevated  mountains, 
and  whether  or  not  its  mouth  is  to  be  found  in  one  of  the 
creeks  between  the  port  de  la  Bodega  and  Cape  Orford;  but 
I  could  have  wished  that  a  geographer,  io  -other  respects 
both  learned  and  judicious,  had  not  attempted  to  rccognisa 
VOL.  II.  I.  I 


266  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  in. 

In  1797  the  Spanish  government  gove  orders  that 
the  charts  drawn  up  in  the  course  of  the  expedition 
«'>r  MM.  Gahano  and  Vuldes  should  be  pubUshed, 
"  in  order  that  tiiey  might  be  in  the  hands  of  the  pub- 
lic before  those  of  Vancouver."  However,  the  pub- 
lication did  not  take  place  till  1802 ;  and  geogra- 
phers now  possess  the  advantage  of  being  able  to 
compare  together  the  charts  of  Vancouver,  those  of 
the  Spanish  navigators  published  by  the  Deposito 
Hydrografico  of  Madrid,  and  the  Russian  chart  pub- 
lished at  Petersburgh  hi  1802,  in  the  depot  of  the 
maps  of  the  charts  of  the  emperor.  This  compari- 
son is  so  much  the  more  necessary,  as  the  same 
capes,  the  same  passages,  and  the  same  islands,  fre- 
quently bear  three  or  four  diiterent  names  ;  and  geo- 
graphical sjmonymy  has  by  that  means  become  as^, 
confused  as  the  synonymy  of  cryptogameous  plants 
has  become  from  an  analogous  cause. 

At  the  same  epoqua  at  which  the  vessels  Siitil  and 
Mexicana  were  employed  in  examining  in  the  great- 
est detail,  the  shore  between  the  parallels  of  45"  and 
51",  the  Count  de  Reviliagigedo  destined  another  ex- 
pedition for  higher  latitudes.  The  mouth  of  the 
river  of  Martin  de  Aqullar  had  been  unsuccessfully 
sought  for  in  the  vicinity  of  Cape  Orford  and  Cape 
Gregory.  Alexander  Malaspina,  in  place  of  .the  la- 
the name  of  Oregan  in  that  of  Oilmen,  which  he  believes  to 
designate  a  river  in  the  map  of  Mexico,  published  by  Don 
AiUonio  Alzate.  {Geografihiti  Mathematique^  Physique.,  et  Pc- 
titique^  vol.  xv.  p.  116.  and  117.)  He  has  confounded  the  Spa- 
nish word  Origen^  the  source  or  origin  of  a  thing,  with  the 
Indian  word  Origan.  The  map  of  Alzate  only  marks  the 
Rio  Colorado,  which  receives  its  waters  from  the  Rio  Gila. 
Near  the  junction  we  read  the  following  words:  Rio  Colo- 
rado 6  del  Norte,  cuyo  origen  se  igno7-a,  of  which  the  origin  is 
unknown.  The  negligence  with  which  these  Spanish  words 
are  divided  (they  have  engraved  Nortecuio  and  Seignora)  is 
undoubtedly  the  cause  of  this  extraordinary  mist.ikc. 


CHAP  VI, I.]         KINGDOM  OF  NFAV  SPAIN.  2C1 

mous  channel  dc  Maldofiado,  hiicl  only  formed  open- 
ings without  aitj-  oiiLkt.  Giiliano  and  VaU'es  had 
ascertained  that  the  strait  of  Fuca  was  merely  an  ai  m 
of  the  sea,  wliieii  si'parates  an  island  of"  i-;iorc  than 
1,700  square  ieac;ues,*  that  oi  Quadra  and  Fa/wouver 
from  the  mruntainous  coast  of  New  Geori^ia.  'I'lierc; 
still  remained  doubts  as  to  the  exi^cen.ce  of"  the  straits, 
of  which  the  discovery  was  attributed  to  admiral 
Fiientes  or  Fonte,  wiiieh  was  supposed  to  he  under 
the  53'  •  of  latitude.  Cook  regretted  his  want  of 
abiliA'-  to  examine  this  part  of  the  continent  of  New 
Hanover;  and  the  assertions  of  Captain  Colinett,  an 
able  navigator,  rendered  it  extremely  prol'J.iblc  that 
the  continuit}'-  of  the  coast  v»as  inten'upted  in  these 
/atitudes.  To  resolve  a  problem  of  such  importance, 
the  viceroy  of  New  Spiiin  ga\ c  oiders  to  Lieutenant 
Don  Jacinto  Caamano,  commander  of  the  frigate 
Aranzazu,  to  examine  with  tiie  crrcatest  care  the 
shore  from  the  5P  to  the  SG"'  of  north  latitude.  jNI. 
Caamano,  whom  I  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  at 
Mexico,  set  sail  from  the  port  of  San  Bias  on  the  20th 
March,  1792  ;  and  he  made  a  voyage  of  six  months. 
He  carefully  surveyed  the  nordiern  part  of  Queen 
Charlotte's  Island,  the  southern  coast  of  the  Prince  of 
Wales's  Island,  which  he  called  Isia  de  Udoa,  the 
islands  of  Revillagigedo,  of  Banks,  (or  de  la  Calamu 
dad,)  and  of  Aristizabal,  and  the  great  inlet  f)f  Ivio- 
nino,  the  mouth  of  which  is  opposite  the  archipelago 
of  Pitt.  The  considerable  number  of  Spanish  de- 
nominations preserved  by  Vancouver  in  his  charts 
proves  that  the  expeditions,  of  which  v/e  h•.l^'e  givea 
a  summary  account,  contributed  in  no  small  degree 
to  our  knovvledge  of  a  coast,  which,  from  the  45"  of 

*  The  extent  of  the  i'jland  of  Quadra  and  Vavcotivcr,  cal- 
culated according  to  the  maps  of  Vancouver,  is  l,r30  square 
leagues  of  25  to  tlie  sexagcsiinal  degree.  It  is  the  Lu'gcst 
island  to  be  found  on  lliis  west  co;:si  of  Amcjica. 


268  POLITICAL  ESSAY  OK  THE  [book  siJ. 

latitude  to  Cape  Douglas  to  the  east  of  Cook's 
Creek,  is  now  more  accurately  surveyed  than  the  most 
part  of  the  coasts  of  Europe. 

I  have  confined  myself  to  the  bringing  together 
at  the  end  of  this  chapter  all  the  infornvation  which 
I  could  procure  with  regard  to  the  voyages  under- 
taken by  the  Spaniards,  from  1553  to  our  own  times, 
towards  the  western  coast  of  New  Spain  to  \lie  north 
of  New  Caliiornia.  The  assemblage  of  thes«  mate- 
rials appeared  to  me  to  be  necessary  in  a  woi\  em- 
bracing whatever  concerns  the  political  and  commer- 
cial relations  of  Mexico. 

The  gfecgraphers,  who  are  eager  to  divide  ftie 
world  for  the  sake  of  facilitating  the  study  of  the'ji: 
science,  distinguish  on  the  north-west  coast  an  En- 
glish part,  a  Spanish  part,  and  a  Russian  part.  These 
divisions  have  been  made  without  consulting  the 
chiefs  of  the  different  tribes  who  inhabit  these  coun- 
tries !  If  the  puerile  ceremonies  which  the  Euro- 
peans call  taking  possession,  and  if  astronomical  ob- 
servations made  on  a  recently  discovered  coast  could 
give  rights  of  property,  this  portion  of  the  new.  con- 
tinent would  be  singularly  pieced  out  and  divided 
among  the  Spaniards,  English,  Russians,  French,  and 
Americans.  One  small  island  would  sometimes  be 
shared  by  two  or  three  nations  at  once,  because  each 
might  have  discovered  a  different  cape  of  it.  The 
great  sinuosity  of  the  coast  between  the  parallels  of 
55o  and  60"  embrace  the  successive  discoveries  of 
Gaii,  Beering,  and  Tsehiricow,  Quadra,  Cook,  La- 
pcrouse,  Malaspina,  and  Vancouver  ! 

No  European  nation  has  yet  formed  a  solid  esta- 
blishment on  the  immense  extent  of  coast  from 
Cape  Mendocino  to  the  59°  of  latitude.  Beyond 
this  limit  the  Russian  factories  commence,  the  most 
part  of  which  are  scattered  and  distant  from  one 
another,  like  the  factories  established  by  European 
nations  for  these  last  three  hundred  vears  on  the  coast 


CHAP.  VIM.]  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SIWIN.  ^209 

of  Africa.  The  most  part  of  these  small  Russian 
colonics  have  no  communication  with  one  another 
but  by  sea ;  and  the  new  denominations  oi  Russian 
America^  ov  Russian  possessions  in  the  new  continent y 
ought  not  to  induce  i:s  to  believe  that  tlie  coast  of 
the  Basin  of  Beering,  the  peninsula  Alaska^  or  the 
country  of  the  Tschugatschi,  huAc  become  Russian 
provinces^  in  the  sense  which  wc  give  to  thi^  word 
speaking  of  the  Spanish  provinces  of  Sonora  or  Nc\v' 
Biscay. 

The  western  coast  of  America  aflbrds  the  only 
example  of  a  shore  of  1,900  leagues  in  length,  in- 
habited by  one  European  jiation.  The  Spaniards,  as 
we  have  already  indicated  in  the  commencement  of 
•this  work,*  ha\e  formed  estai;libhments  from  fort 
Maullin  in  Chili  to  S.  Francis  in  Ncv/  California. 
To  the  north  of  the  parallel  of  38"  succeed  indepen- 
dent Indian  tribes.  It  is  probable  that  these  tiibes 
will  be  gradually  subdued  by  the  Russian  colonists, 
who,  towards  the  end  of  the  last  century,  passed 
over  from  the  eastern  extremity  of  Asia  to  the  con- 
tinent of  America.  The  progress  of  these  Russian 
Siberians  towards  the  south  ought  naturally  to  be 
more  rapid  than  that  of  the  Spanish  Mexicans  towards 
the  north.  A  people  of  hunters,  accustomed  to  live 
in  a  foggy,  and  excessively  cold  climate,  fn.d  the 
temperature  of  the  coast  of  New  Cornwall  very 
agreeable ;  but  this  coast  appears  an  uninhabitable 
countiy,  a  polar  region  to  colonists  from  a  temperate 
climate,  from  the  fertile  and  delicious  plains  of  So- 
nora and  New  California. 

The  Spanish  government  since  1788  has  begun 
to  testify  uneasiness  at  the  appearance  of  the  Rus- 
sians on  the  north-west  coast  of  the  ne^v  continent. 
Considering  every  European  nation  in  the  ligh.t  of  a 
dangerous  neighbour,  they  examined  the  situation 

*  See  to!.  T.  p   6. 


270  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  iii. 

of  the  l^nssian  factories.  The  fear  ceased  on  its  be- 
ing- known  at  Madrid  that  these  factories  did  not 
extend  eastwards  beyond  Cook's  Inlet.  When  the 
emperor  Paul,  in  1799,  declared  war  against  Spain, 
it  was  some  time  in  agitation  at  Mexico  to  prepare  a 
maritime  expedition  in  the  ports  of  San  Bias  and 
Monterey  against  the  Russian  colonies  in  America. 
If  this  project  had  been  carried  into  execution  we 
should  have  seen  at  hostilities  two  nations  Avho,  oc- 
cupying the  opposite  extremities  of  Europe,  approach 
each  other  in  the  other  hemisphere  on  the  eastern  and 
western  hmits  of  their  vast  empires. 

The  interval  which  separates  these  limits  liecomes 
progressively  smaller ;  and  it  is  for  the  political  in- 
terest of  New  Spain  to  know  accurately  the  parallel 
to  which  the  Russian  nation  has  already  advanced 
towards  the  east  and  south.  A  manuscript  which 
exists  in  the  archives  of  the  viceroyalty  of  Mexico, 
already  cited  by  me,  gave  me  only  vague  and  incom- 
plete notions.  It  describes  the  state  of  the  Russian 
establishments  as  they  were  twenty  years  ago.  M. 
Make  Brun,  in  his  universal  geography,  gives  an  in- 
teresting article  on  the  north-west  coast  of  America. 
He  was  the  first  who  made  known  the  account  of  the 
voyage  of  Billings,*  published  by  M.  SarytscheiVy 
which  is  preferable  to  that  of  M.  Saner.  I  flatter  my- 
self that  I  am  able  to  give  from  very  recent  data, 
drawn  from  an  official  production, f  the  position  of 

*  Account  of  the  geograjihical  and  astronomical  exfieditioTi,, 
undertaken  for  exfilorivg  the  coast  of  the  Jcy  Sea,  the  land  of  the 
Tshutski,  and  the  islands  beliDctn  Asia  and  America^  tinder  the 
command  ofCajitain  Billings,  betvjccn  the  years  1785  and  1794, 
by  Martin  Saner,  secretary  to  the  exfiedition,  Putetchcstnuic 
Jlola-kafiiiana  Sarytsclieiva  fio  severoivostochnoi  tschasti  sibiriy 
Icdoivitatva  ?nora,  i  ivostochnogo  okeana,  1804. 

t  Carte  dea  decouvertesfaitcssncccssivcmcnt/iar  des  navigO' 
teurs  Eu.ises  dans  I' Ocean  Pacifque,  et  dans  la  mer  glaciale, 
ccrrigee  d'a/ires  les  observations  astronomi(jues  les  fdus  rccentes 

4 


CHAP,  viu.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  271 

the  Russian  factories,  which  nre  merely  collections 
of  slicds  and  huis,  that  serve,  however,  as  emporiunjs 
for  the  fur  trade. 

On  the  coast  nearest  to  Asia,  along  Beering's  Straits, 
between  the  G7"  and  64''  10'  of  latitude,  under  the 
parallels  of  Lapland  and  Iceland,  we  find  a  great 
nunib(;r  of  huts  frequented  by  the  S-iberian  hunters. 
The  principal  posts,  reckoning  from  noi*th  to  south, 
arc,  Kigiltach.,  Legldac/itoky  Tuguteii,  Nctschich^ 
Tc/iiuegriun,  Chibalec/i^  Tvpar^  Pintepata^  AgulU 
chan^  Chavaniy  and  Nugran,  near  Caps  Rodney^ 
(Cap  du  Parent.)  These  habitations  of  the  natives  of 
Russian  America  are  only  from  thirty  to  forty  leagues 
distant*  from  the  huts  of  the  Tchoutskis  of  Asiatic 

de  filusieurs  yiavigatciirs  ctrangcrs,  gravee  au  dcjioi  des  Cartes 
de  sa  Alajeste  I' Kmjiereur  de  toutes  Ics  Hussies,  en  1802.  This 
beautiful  chart,  for  which  I  am  indebted  to  the  kindness  of  ^/. 
de  Si.  jiignan,  is  l"i,231  (4.037  feet)  in  length,  and  0"',  722 
(2.367  feet)  in  breadth,  and  embraces  the  extent  of  coast  and 
sea  between  the  40^^  and  72"  of  latitude,  and  the  125"  and 
224°  of  west  longitude  from  I'aris.  The  names  are  in  Rus- 
sian characters. 

*  As  it  ir-  more  than  probable  that  Asiatic  and  American 
tribes  have  crossed  the  ocean,  it  may  be  curious  to  examine 
the  breadth  of  the  arm  of  the  sea  which  separates  the  two 
continents  under  the  65"  50'  of  north  latitude.  According- 
to  the  most  recent  discoveries  by  the  Russian  navigators, 
America  is  nearest  to  Siljeria  on  a  line  which  crosses  Beer- 
ing's Straits  in  a  direction  from  the  south-east  to  the  north- 
west, from  Prince  of  IVnlcs's  Ca/ie  to  Cape  Tschoukot.^koy. 
The  distance  between  these  two  capes  is  44',  or  18  3-10 
leagues  of  25  to  the  degree.  The  island  of  Imaglin  is  almost 
in  the  middle  of  the  channel,  being  one-fifth  nearer  the  Asi- 
atic cape.  However,  it  is  not  necessary  for  our  conceiving 
that  Asiatic  tribes  established  on  the  table-land  of  Chinese 
Tartary  should  pass  from  the  old  to  the  new  continent,  to  have 
recourse  to  a  transmigration  at  such  liigh  latitudes.  A  chain 
of  small  islands  in  the  vicinity  of  one  another,  stretches  from 
Corea  and  Ji  pan  to  the  southern  cape  of  the  peninsula  of 
Kamtschatka,  l)et\vecn  the  33o  and  the  51"  of  lutilude.  The 
great  island  of  Tchoka,  connected  with  the  continent  by  au 
immense  sand-bunk,   (under    the   52o  of  latitude,)  facilitates 


272  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE         [book  hi. 

Jlussia.  The  Straits  of  Beering,  which  separates 
ihtm,  is  filled  with  desert  islands,  of  which  the  most 
northern  is  called  Imaglin.  The  north-east  extremity 
of  Asia  forms  a  peninsula,  which  is  only  connected 
with  the  great  mass  of  the  continent  by  a  narrow 
isthmus  between  the  two  gulfs  of  Mitschigmen  and 
Kaltschin.  The  Asiatic  coast  which  borders  the 
Straits  of  iicering,  is  peopled  by  great  numbers  of 
cetaceous  mammiferi.  On  this  coast  the  Tchoutskis, 
who  live  in  perpetual  war  with  the  Americans,  have 
collected  together  their  habitations.  Their  small  vil- 
lages are  called  A'ukafiy  Tugu/an,  and  Tschigin, 

Following  the  coast  of  the  continent  of  America 
from  Cape  Rodney  and  Norton  Creek  to  Cape  Ma- 
lowodan,  Cape  Little-water^  we  find  no  Russian  esta- 
blishment ;  but  the  iwtivcs  have  a  great  number  of 
liuts  collected  together  on  the  shore  between  the 
63''  20'  and  60*'  5'  of  latitude.  The  most  northern  of 
their  habitations  are  Agihaniach  and  Chalmiagmi^  and 
the  most  southern  Kiiynegach  and  Kuymin, 

•'omraunication  between  the  mouths  of  TAmour  and  the  Ku- 
rile  islands.  Another  archipelago  of  islands,  by  which  the 
threat  basin  of  Beeiing  is  terminated  on  the  south,  advances 
from  the  peninsula  of  Alaska  400  leagues  towards  the  west. 
The  most  western  of  the  Aleutian  islands  is  only  144  leagues 
distant  from  the  eastern  coast  of  Kamtschatka,  and  this  dis- 
tance is  also  divided  into  two  nearly  equal  parts,  the  Beerinp; 
and  Mednoi  islands,  situated  under  the  55^  of  latitude.  This 
rapid  view  sufficiently  proves  that  Asiatic  tribes  might  have 
i',one  by  means  of  these  islands  from  one  continent  to  the 
other  nvit/iouf.  going  higher  on  the  continent,  of  Aaia  than  thr. 
f.aralld  of  55o,  without  turning  the  sea  of  Ochotsk  to  the 
west,  anil  without  a  passage  of  more  than  twenty-four  or 
thirty-six  hours.  The  north-west  winds  which,  during  a 
great  part  of  the  year  blow  in  these  latitudes,  favour  the  na- 
vigatio.i  from  Asia  to  America  between  the  50'i  and  60o  of  la- 
titude. It  is  not  wished  in  tliis  note  to  establish  new  histo- 
rical hypotheses,  or  to  discuss  those  which  have  been  hack- 
neyed these  forty  years  :  we  merely  wis!)  to  afford  exact  no- 
tions as  to  the  proximity  of  the  two  continents. 


quAP.  VIII.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  273 

The  bay  of  Bristol,  to  the  north  of  the  peninsula 
Alit-ska,  (orAliaska,)  ib  called  by  the  Russians  ihc  guif 
Kamischezkaia.  They  in  general  preserve  none  of 
the  English  names  i^iven  by  Captain  Cook,  and  Cap- 
tain Vancouver,  in  their  charts,  to  the  north  of  the 
55o  of  latitude.  They  choose  rather  to  give  no 
names  to  the  two  great  islands  which  contain  the  Pic 
Trubizin^  (the  Mount  Edgecumbe  of  Vancouver,  and 
Cerrode  San  Jacinto  oi  Quadra,)  and  Ci\\->t:Tschiricqf, 
(Cape  S:.n  Bartholonie,)  than  adopt  the  denomina- 
tion of  King  George'^s  Archipelago  and  Prince  of 
JFales's  Arc/iipeLigo. 

'ihe  coast  from  the  gulf  Kam.ischezkaia  to  New 
Cornwall,  is  inhia  ited  by  five  tribes,  who  fonv*  as 
many  great  territorial  divisions  on  the  colonir^  'i 
Russian  America.  Their  names  are  Kaniugi,  Ke^ 
nai/zi,  Tschugatschi.  Ugalaclimiuti,  and  Koliugi. 

The  most  nortiiein  part  of  Alaska,  and  ihc  islaiid 
of  Kodiak,  vulgarly  called  by  the  Russians  j/TzV/z^^/r, 
though  Kightak^  in  tile  language  of  the  nutiv-  s  in 
general  meuus  only  an  island,  i)CiOiigs  lo  the  Kaniagi 
division.  A  great  interior  lake  of. more  than  2G  leugLiv  s 
in  length,  and  12  in  breadth,  comraUMicates  by  tlie 
river  Igtschiagick  with  the  bay  of  Bristo..  There  are 
two  forts  and  several  factories  on  the  Kodiak  Island, 
(Kadiak,)  and  the  small  adjacent  islands.  The  forts 
established  by  Schelikoff  bear  the  name  ot  Karluk 
and  the  three  Sanctijiers.  jM.  Miilte  Brun  snys  tliat, 
according  to  the  latest  information,  the  Kichtak  archi- 
pelago was  destined  to  contain  the  head  place  of  all 
the  Russian  settlements.  Sarytschew  asserts,  that 
there  are  a  bishop  and  Russian  monastery  in  the  island 
of  Umanak,  (Umnak.)  1  do  not  know  whether  there 
has  been  any  similar  establishment  elsewhere  ;  for  the 
chart  pu;)lished  in  1802  indicates  no  factory  cither  at 
Umiiak,  Unimak,  or  Unalaschka.  I  read,  however, 
at  Mexico,  in  the  manuscript  journal  of  Martinez's 
voy;  ere,   1  licit  the   Spaniards   lound   several    ivUbsian 

VOL.  II.  M   m 


274  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  uv 

houses,  and  about  a  hundred  small  barks,  at  the  island 
of  Unalaschka  in  1788.  The  natives  of  the  penin- 
sula Alaska  call  themselves  the  jiien  of  the  east^  (Ka- 
gataya- Koung'ns. ) 

The  Kenayzi  inhabit  the  western  coast  of  Cook 
creek,  or  the  Gulph  Kenayskia.  The  i?«(/a  factory, 
visited  by  Vancouver,  is  situated  there  under  the 
61''  8'.  The  governor  of  the  island  of  Kodiak,  ^ 
Greek  named  Ivanitsch  Delareif,  assured  M.  Sauer, 
that  notwithstanding  the  rigour  of  the  climate,  grain 
would  ihi'ive  well  on  the  banks  of  Cook  river.  He 
introduced  the  cultivation  of  cabbages  and  potatoes 
into  the  gardens  at  Kodiak. 

The  Tschugatschi  occupy  the  country  between 
the  northern  extremity  of  Cook  Inlet  and  the  east  of 
Prince  William's  bay,  (Tschugatskaia  gulf.)  There 
are  several  factories  and  three  small  forts  in  this 
district :  Fort  Alexander,  near  the  mouth  of  Port 
Chatham,  and  the  forts  of  the  Tuk  Islands,  (Green. 
Island  of  Vancouver,)  and  Tchalca,  (Hinchinbrook 
Island.) 

The  Ugalachmiiiti  extend  from  the  gulf  of  Prince 
William  to  the  bay  of  Jakutal,  called  by  Vancouver 
Beering's  bay.*  The  factory  of  St.  Simon  is  near 
Cape  Suckling,  (Cape  Elie  of  the  Russians.)  It  ap- 
pears that  the  central  chain  of  the  Cordilleras  of  New 
Norfolk  is  considerably  distant  from  the  coast  at  the 
Pic  of  St.  Elie ;  for  the  natives  informed  M.  Barrow, 
who  ascended  the  river  Mednaja  (copper  river)  for  a 
length  of  500  weist,  (120  leagues,)  that  it  would  re- 

*  Wc  must  not  confound  the  bay  of  Bearing  of  Vancouver, 
situated  at  the  foot  of  Mount  St.  Elie,  with  the  Beering's  baj- 
ofthe  Spanish  maps,  near  Mount  Fairwealher(Nevado  de  Bu- 
cnticmpo.)  Without  an  accurate  acquaintance  with  geographi- 
cal synonymy,  t'ne  Spanish,  English,  Russian  and  French  v  orks 
on  the  north-west  coast  of  America  arc  almost  unintelligible  ; 
and  it  is  only  by  a  minute  comparison  of  the  maps  that  thi'=; 
synoi'^ymy  can  be  li:;ed. 


CHAP.  vHi.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  275 

quire  two  clans'  journey  northwards  to  reach  the  high 
chain  of  the  mountains. 

The  KoUugi  inhabit  the  mountainous  country  of 
NewNorlolk,  and  the  northern  part  of  New  Cornwall. 
The  Russians  mark  Bunough  bay  on  tlieir  charts, 
(latitude  5S''  50  ,)  opposite  the  Revilkigigedo  island  of 
Vancouver,  (Iski  de  Gravina  of  the  Spanish  maps,) 
as  the  most  southern  and  eastern  boundaries  of  the 
extent  of  country  of  which  they  claim  the  property. 
It  appears  that  the  great  island  of  the  King  George 
archipelago  has,  in  fact,  been  examined  with  more 
care  and  more  minutely  by  the  Russian  navigators 
than  by  Vancouver.  Of  this  we  may  easily  convince 
ourselves  by  comparing  attentively  the- western  coast 
of  this  island*  especially  the  environs  of  Cape  Tru- 
bizin,  (Cape  Edgecumbe,)  and  of  the  port  of  the  Arch- 
angel St.  Michel,  in  Sitka  bay,  (the  Norfolk  Sound 
of  the  English,  and  Tchinkitane  bay  of  Marchand,) 
on  the  charts  published  at  Peterslnirgh  in  the  impe- 
rial depot  in  1802,  and  on  the  charts  of  Vancouver. 
The  most  southern  Russian  establishment  of  this  dis- 
trict of  the  Koliugi  is  a  small  fortress  (crapost)  in  the 
bay  of  Jakutal,  at  the  foot  of  the  Cordillera  which  con- 
nects Mount  Fairweather  with  Mont  St.  Elie  near 
Port  Mulgrave,  under  the  ^9"  27'  of  latitude.  The 
proximity  of  mountains  covered  with  eternal  snow, 
and  the  great  breadth  of  the  continent  from  the  58o 
of  latitude,  render  the  climate  of  this  coast  of  New 
Norfolk,  ^nd  the  country  of  the  Ugalachmiuti,  ex- 
cessively cold  and  inimical  to  the  progress  of  vegeta- 
tion. 

When  the  sloops  of  the  expedition  of  Malaspina 
penetrated  into  the  interior  of  the  bay  of  Jakutal  as 
far  as  the  port  of  Desengano,  they  found  the  northern 
extremity  of  the  port  under  the  59"  of  latitude  covered 
in  the  month  of  July  with  a  solid  mass  of  ice.  We 
might  be  inclined  to  believe  that  this  mass  belonged 


276  POLTTICAL  ESSAY,  &c.  [book  ii^. 

to  a  glacier-^  which  terminated  in  high  maritime  alps; 
but  Mackenzie  relates,  that  on  examining  the  banks 
of  the  Slave  lake,  250  leagues  to  the  eas,  under  61» 
oi  latitude,  he  found  the  lake  wholly  froz<.n  over  in 
the  month  of  June.  The  difference  of  temperature 
observable  in  general  on  the  eastern'  and  western 
coast  of  the  new  continent,  oi  which  wc  have  already 
spoken,  i.ppears  only  to  be  very  sensible  to  the 
south  of  the  parallel  of  53°,  which  passes  through 
New  Hanovei',  and  the  great  island  of  Queen  Char- 
lotte. 

There  is  nearly  the  same  absolute  distance  from 
Pctersburgh  to  the  most  eatitern  Russian  factory  on 
the  continent  ot  Amt  rica,  as  from  Madrid  to  the  port 
ol  San  Francisco  in  New  California.  '  The  breadth 
oi  the  Russian  empire  embraces  under  the  60  ■  of  lati- 
tude an  extent  of  country  of  nearly  2,400  leagues ; 
but  the  small  fort  of  the  bay  of  Jakutal  is  still  more 
than  600  leagues  distant  frorti  the  most  northern  limits 
of  the  Mexican  possessions.  The  natives  of  these 
northern  regions  have,  for  a  long  time,  been  crueily 
harassed  by  ihe  Siberian  hunters.  Women  and 
children  were  retained  as  hostages  in  the  Russian 
factories.  The  instructions  given  by  the  Empress 
Catharine  to  Captain  Billings,  drawn  up  by  the  illus- 
trious P-llas,  breathe  the  spirit  of  philanthropy,  and 
the  most  noble  sensibility.  The  present  government 
is  seriously  occupied  in  diminishing  the  abuses,  and 
repressing  the  vexations  ;  but  it  is  difficult  to  prevent 
these  evils  at  the  extremities  of  a  vast  empire  ;  and 
the  American  is  docmed  to  feel  every  instant  his  dis- 
tance from  the  capitc:!.  Moreover,  it  appears  more 
than  probable  that  btfore  the  Russians  shisll  clear  the 
interval  vvhicli  separates  them  ,  from  the  Spaniards, 
some  other  enterprising  power  will  attempt  to  esta- 
blish colonies  either  on  the  coast  of  New  Georgia,  or 
on  die  fertile  islands  in  its  vicinity. 
*  Vancouver,  t.  v.  p.  67. 


BOOK  IV. 


STATE  OF  THE  AGRICULTURE  OF  NEW  SPAIN. 
METALLIC  MINES. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


Vegetable  firoductions  of  the  Mexican  territory.  Proijrea»  of 
(he  cultivation  of  the  soil.  Influence  of  the  minc.H  on  cuUi- 
vaticn.     Plants  ivhich  contribute  to  the  nourishment  of  man, 

•  We  have  run  over  the  iminense  extent  of  territor}^ 
comprehL-nded  under  the  denomination  oi  New  Spain. 
We  have  rapidly  described  the  limits  of  each  province, 
the  physical  aspect  ot  the  country,  its  temperature, 
its  natural  lertiiity,  and  the  progress  of  a  nascent  po- 
pulation. It  is  now  time  to  enter  more  miniittiy 
into  the  state  of  agriculture  and  territorial  wealth  of 
Mexico. 

An  empire  extending  from  the  sixteenth  to  the 
thirty- seventh  degree  of  latitude  aftbrds  us  from  its 
geometrical  position,  all  the  modifications  of  climate 
to  be  found  on  transporting  ourselves  from  the  banks 
of  ihe  Senegal  to  Spain,  or  from  the  Malabar  coast  to 
the  steppes  of  the  great  Bucharia.  This  variety  of  cli- 
mate is  also  augmented  by  the  geological  constitution 
ol  the  country,  by  the  mass  and  extraordinary  lorm 


278  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE         [book  iv. 

of  the  Mexican  mountains,  which  we  ha v'e  described 
in  the  third  chapter.  On  the  ridge  and  dechvity  of 
the  Cordilleras  the  temperature  of  each  table- kind  va- 
ries as  it  is  more  or  less  elevated ;  not  merely  insulated 
peaks,  of  which  the  summits  approach  the  region  of 
perpetual  snow,  are  co'^'ered  with  oaks  and  pines,  but 
whole  provinces  spontaneously  produce  alpine  plants  ; 
and  tlie  cultivator  inhabiting  the  torrid  zone  frequently 
loses  the  hopes  of  his  harvest  from  the  eli'ects  of  frost 
or  the  abundance  of  snow. 

Such  is  the  admirable  distribution  of  heat  on  the 
globe,  that  in  the  aerial  ocean  we  meet  with  colder 
strata  iii  proportion  as  we  ascend,  while  in  the  depth 
of  the  sea  the  temperature  diminishes  as  we  leave  the 
surface  of  ihe  water.  In  the  two  elements  the  same 
latitude  unites,  as  it  were,  every  climate.  At  un- 
equal distances  from  the  surface  of  the  ocean,  but  in 
the  same  vertical  plane,  we  fmd  strata  of  air  and  strata 
of  vv/;\ter  of  the  same  temperature.  Hence,  under  the 
tropics,  on  the  declivity  of  the  Cordilleras,  and  in 
the  abyss  of  the  ocean,  the  plants  of  Lapland,  :is  well 
as  the  marine  animals  in  the  vicin.ity  of  the  pole,  lind 
the  degree  of  heat  necessary  to  their  organic  deve- 
lopment. 

From  this  order  of  things,  established  bv  nature, 
we  may  conceive  that,  in  a  mouiitainous  and  exten- 
sive  country  like  Mexico,  the  variety  of  indigenous 
productions  must  be  ivnmense,  and  that  there  hardly 
exists  a  plant  in  tlie  rest  of  the  globe  Vvliich  is  not 
capable  of  being  cultivated  in  some  part  of  New  Spain. 
Notvv'itlistanding  the  laborious' researches  of  three  dis- 
tinguished botanists,  MM.  Sesse,  Mocino,  and  Cer- 
vantes, employed  by  the  court  in  examining  the  ve- 
getable riches  of  Mexico,  we  are  far  irom  }ct  being 
able  to  flatter  ourselves  that  we  knov/  any  thing  like 
ail  the  plants  scattered  over  the  insulated  svnnmits,  or 
crowded  together  in  the  vast  forests  at  the  foot  of  the 
Cordilleras.  If  wc  still  daily  discover  new  herba- 
5 


OHAP.  IX.]  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  O79 

ceoiis  species  on  tlie  central  lable-land,  and  even  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  city  of  Mexico,  how  many  arbores- 
cent plants  have  never  yet  been  discovered  by  bo- 
tanists in  the  humid  and  warm  rei^ion  along  the  east- 
ern coast,  fionl  the  province  of  Tabasco,  and  the 
fertile  banks  of  tlic  Guasacualco,  to  Colipa  and  Pa- 
pimtla,  and  along  the  western  coast  from  the  port  of 
ScUi  Bkis  ;ind  Sonora  to  the  pliiins  of  the  province 
of  Oaxaca?  Hitherto  no  species  of  qmnqu'ma.,  (cin- 
chona,) none  even  of  the  small  group,  oi  which  the 
stamina  are  lojificr  than  the  corolla,  which  form  the 
genus  exostenia,  has  been  discovered  m  the  equi- 
noxial  part  of  New  Spain.  It  is  probable,  however, 
that  this  precious  discovery  Mill  one  day  be  made  on 
the  declivifv  of  the  Cordilleras,  where  arborescent 
ferns  abound,  and  where  the  region*  of.  the  true  fe- 


*  See  my  Gc'O^raphie  des  Pkintesy-p.  61 — 66.  and  a  memoh' 
publibiicd  by  me  in  Geiir.aii,  conuauiiig  physical  observations 
on  tbc  diffcrcrA  species  of  cinchona  growing-  in  the  two  con- 
tinents, (i\!e/?ioJres  de  la  Socicte  d'Histcire  A''a:urclle  de  Berlin^ 
18U7,  No.  1.  and  2.)  It  is  believed  at  Mexico,  that  the  port- 
landia  Mtxicana  discovered  by  M.  Sesse,  might  serve  as  a 
subplitiue  ibr  the  quinquina  of  Loxa,  as  is  dene  in  a  cenaia 
degree  by  the  porthmdia  hfxandra  (Coutarea  Aublet)at  Cay- 
enne, the  Bonplandia  trifoliata  Wi!ld.  or  the  cuspare  on  the 
banks  of  the  Orinoco,  and  the  swiienia  f'-brifiiga  Roxb.  in 
the  East  Indies.  It  is  to  be  desired  that  the  medicinal  virtues 
of  tlie  Pinkneya  pubens  of  Michaux  (mussaenda  bracteolata 
Bartram)  vvliich  grows  in  Georgia,  and  which  has  so  much 
analogy  with  the  cinchona,  should  also  be  examined.  When 
■we  corisider  the  properties  of  the  Portlandia,  Coutarea,  and 
Boi.plandia  genera,  or  the  natural  affinity  between  the  true 
prickly  and  creeping  cinchona  discovered  at  Guayaquil  by  M. 
T&h.ila,  aiid  the  pcderia  and  dunais  genera,  we  perceive  that 
the  febrifuge  principle  of  the  quinquina  is  to  be  found  in 
many  other  rubiaceous  plants.  In  the  same  manner  the  ca- 
outchouc is  not  only  extracted  from  the  hevca,  but  also  from 
the  urceola  elaslita,  from  the  comnnphora  iNIadagascarensis, 
and  from  a  great  number  of  ether  plants  cf  the  euphorbean, 
of  the  iirtican  (ficus  cecropi?)  of  the  cucurbitaceousj  (cdivic^-) 
and  of  the  carnpanuhicr^v:  '^JrhT'ia')  families. 


280  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  (book  ly. 

brifuge  quinquina  with  very  short  stamina  and  downy 
corolijE  commencLS. 

We  do  not  propose  here  to  describe  the  innume- 
rable variety  ol"  vegetables  with  which  nature  has  en- 
riched tlie  vast  extent  of  New  Spain,  and  of  which 
the  useful  properties  will  become  better  known  when 
civilization  shall  have  made  farther  progress  in  the 
country.  We  mean  merely  to  speak  of  the  different 
kinds  of  cultivation  which  an  enlightened  govern- 
ment might  introduce  with  success ;  and  we  shall 
confine  ourselves  to  an  examination  of  the  indigenous 
productions  which  at  this  moment  furnish  objects  of 
exportation,  and  which  form  the  principal  basis  of  the 
Mexican  agriculture. 

Under  the  tropics,  especially  in  the  West  Indies, 
which  have  become  the  centre  of  the  commercial  ac- 
tivity of  the  Europeans,  the  word  agriculture  is  un- 
derstood in  a  very  different  sense  from  what  it  re- 
ceives in  Europe.  When  we  hear  at  Jamaica  or 
Cuba  of  the  flourishing  state  of  agriculture,  this  ex- 
pression does  not  offer  to  the  imagination  the  idea  of 
harvests  which  serve  for  the  nourishment  of  man, 
but  of  ground  V.hich  produces  objects  of  commercial 
exchange,  and  rude  materials  for  manufacturing  in- 
dustiy.  Moreover,  whatever  be  the  riches  or  fertility 
of  the  country,  the  valley  de  los  Guines,  for  exam- 
ple, to  the  south-east  of  the  Havannah,  one  of  the 
most  delicious  situations  of  the  new  world,  we  see 
only  plains  carefully  planted  with  sugar-cane  and 
coHee  ;  and  these  plains  are  watered  with  the  sweat 
of  African  slaves  !  Rural  life  loses  its  charms  when 
it  is  inseparable  from  the  aspect  of  the  sufferings  of 
our  species. 

But  in  the  interior  of  Mexico,  the  word  agricul- 
ture suggests  ideas  of  a  less  afHicting  nature.  The 
[ndiaii  cultivator  is  poor,  but  he  is  free.  His  state  is 
even  greatly  pieferable  to  that  of  the  peasantry  in  a 
.great  ])art  of  the*  'lorth  of  ]\un)pe.     Ti'jcrc  arc  nei- 


cuAP.  IX.]         KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  281 

thcr  corvees  nor  villcnage  in  New  Spain ;  and  the 
number  of  slaves  is  next  to  nothing.  Sugar  is 
chiefly  the  produce  oF  free  hands.  There  the  prin- 
cipal objects  of  agricuhure  arc  not  the  productions 
to  \vhich  European  luxury  has  assigned  a  variable  and 
arbitrary  value,  but  cereal  gramina,  nutritive  roots> 
and  the  agave,  the  vine  of  the  Indians.  The  appear, 
ance  of  the  country  proclaims  to  the  traveller  that  the 
soil  nourishes  him  who  cultivates  it,  and  that  the  true 
prosperity  of  the  Mexican  people  neither  depends 
on  the  accidents  of  foreign  commerce,  nor  on  the  un- 
ruly politics  of  Europe. 

Those  who  only  know  the  interior  of  the  Spanish 
colonies  from  the  vague  and  uncertain  notions  hi- 
therto published  will  have  some  difficulty  in  believing 
that  the  principal  sources  of  the  Mexican  riches  are 
by  no  means  the  mines,  but  an  agriculture  which  has 
been  gradually  ameliorating  since  the  end  of  the  last 
century.  Without  reflecting  on  the  immense  extent 
of  the  country,  and  especially  the  great  number  of  pro- 
vinces which  appear  totally  destitute  of  preciousmetals, 
we  generally  imagine  that  all  the  activity  of  the  Mexi- 
can population  is  directed  to  the  working  of  mines. 
Because  agriculture  has  made  a  very  considerable 
progress  in  the  capitania  general  of  Caraccas,  in  the 
kingdom  of  Guatimala,  the  island  of  Cuba,  and 
wherever  the  mountains  are  accounted  poor  in  mineral 
productions,  it  has  been  inferred  that  it  is  to  the  work- 
ing of  the  mines  that  we  are  to  attiibute  the  small 
care  bestowed  on  the  cultivation  of  the  soil  in  other 
parts  of  the  Spanish  colonies.  This  reasoning  is 
just  when  applied  to  small  portions  of  territory.  No 
doubt,  in  the  provinces  of  Choco,  and  Antioquia, 
and  the  coast  of  Barbacoas,  the  inhabitants  are  fonder 
of  seeking  for  the  gold  washed  down  in  the  brooks  and 
ravins  than  of  cultivating  a  virgin  and  fertile  soil ; 
and  in  the  beginning  of  the  conquest,  the  Spaniards 
who  abandoned  the  peninsula   or  Canary  Islands   to 

VOL.  ir.  V  n 


,282  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  iv^, 

settle  in  Peru  and  Mexico  had  no  other  view  but 
the  discovery  of  the  precious  metals.  *'  Auri  rabida 
sitis  a  cultura  Hispanos  divertit,"  says  a  writer  of 
those  times,  Pedro  Martyr,*  in  his  work  on  the  dis- 
covery of  Yucatan  and  the  colonization  of  the  An- 
tilles. But  this  reasoning  cannot  now  explain  why  in 
countries  of  three  or  four  times  the  extent  of  France 
agriculture  is  in  a  state  of  languor.  The  same  phy- 
sical and  moral  causes  which  fetter  the  progress  of  na- 
tional industiy  in  the  Spanish  colonies  have  been  in- 
imical to  a  better  cultivation  of  the  soil.  It  cannot 
be  doubted  that  under  improved  social  institutions 
the  countries  which  most  abound  with  mineral  pro- 
ductions will  be  as  well  if  not  better  cultivated  than 
those  in  which  no  such  productions  are  to  be  found. 
But  the  desire  natural  to  man  of  simplifying  the 
pauses  of  every  thing  has  introduced  into  works  of 
political  economy  a  species  of  reasoning  which  is 
perpetuated,  because  it  flatters  the  mental  indolence 
of  the  multitude.  The  depopulation  of  Spanish 
America,  the  state  of  neglect  in  which  the  most  fer- 
tile lands  are  found,  and  the  want  of  manufacturing 
industry,  are  attributed  to  the  metallic  weaidi,  to  the 
abundance  of  gold  ai)d  silver  ;  as,  according  to  the 
same  logic,  all  the  evils  of  Spain  are  to  be  attributed 
to  the  discovery  of  America,  or  the  wandering  race 
of  the  merinos,  or  the  religious  intolerance  of  the 
elerg}'-  !f 

*  De  insulis  nuper  repertis  ct  dc  moribus  incolarum  earum. 
Grynai  novus  orbis,  1555,  p.  511. 

t  If  all  the  evils  of  Spuiii  arc  not  to  ho  attributed  to  the 
discovery  of  America,  it  has  been  proved  bj'  an  acute  politi- 
cal economist,  M.  Brougham,  that  Spain  is  one  of  the  Euro- 
pean nations  the  state  of  v,-hich  is  least  adapted  for  coloniza- 
tion, and  in  which  the  national  capital  and  industry  could  in 
almost  no  way  be  more  unprofitably  employed.  It  is  no  less- 
true  that  the  merinos  are  a  great  obstacle  to  agricultural  im- 
provement, aiid  that  the  intolerance  of  the   clergy   can    con- 


CHAP.  IX.]  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  ggj 

We  do  not  observe  that  agriculture  is  more  ne- 
glected than  in  Peru  the  province  of  Cumana  or  Gua- 
yana,  in  which,  however,  there  are  no  mines  worked. 
In  Mexico  the  best  cultivated  fields,  those  which  re- 
call to  the  mind  of  the  traveller  the  beautiful  plains 
of  France,  are  those  which  extend  from  Salamanca 
towards  Silao,  Guanaxuato,  and  the  Villa  de  Leon, 
and  which  surround  the  richest  mines  of  the  known 
world.  Wherever  metallic  seams  have  been  disco- 
vered in  the  most  uncultivated  part  of  the  Cordille- 
ras, on  the  insulated  and  desert  table- lands,  the  work- 
ing of  mines,  far  from  impeding  the  cultivation 
of  the  soil,  has  been  singularly  favourable  to  it.  Tra- 
velling along  the  ridge  of  the  Andes,  or  the  moun- 
tainous part  of  Mexico,  we  everywhere  see  the  most 
striking  examples  of  the  beneficial  influence  of  the 
mines  on  agriculture.  Were  it  not  for  the  establish- 
ments formed  for  the  working  of  the  mines,  how  many 
places  would  have  remained  desert  ?  how  many  dis- 
tricts uncultivated  in  the  four  intendancies  of  Gua- 
naxuato, Zacatecas,  San  Luis  Potosi,  and  Durango, 
between  the  parallels  of  21''  and  25°,  where  the  most 
considerable  metallic  wealth  of  New  Spain  is  to  be 
found  ?  If  the  town  is  placed  on  the  arid  side  or  the 
crest  of  the  Cordilleras,  the  new  colonists  can  only 
draw  from  a  distance  the  means  of  their  subsistence  and 
the  maintenance  of  the  great  number  of  cattle  employ- 
ed in  drawing  off  the  water,  and  raising  and  amalgama- 
ting the  mineral  produce.  Want  soon  awakens  indus- 
try. The  soil  begins  to  be  cultivated  in  the  ravins  and 
declivities  of  the  neighbouring  mountains  wherever 
the  rock  is  covered  with  earth.     Farms  are  establish- 

tribute  very  Utile  to  the  prosperity  of  the  country.  The  au- 
thor does  not  surely  mean  to  say  that  they  are  not  among  the 
principal  causes  of  the  present  state  of  Spain.  That  there 
are  other  causes  in  abundance  every  one  at  all  acquainted 
with  that  country  will  have  no  difficulty  in  comprehending. 
Trans.    . 


284  POLITICAL  ESSAY-  ON  THE  [book  ty. 

cd  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  mine.  The  high 
price  of  provision,  from  the  competition  of  the  pur- 
chasers, indemnifies  the  cultivator  for  the  privations  to 
which  he  is  exposed  from  the  hard  Ufe  of  the  moun- 
tains. Thus  from  the  hope  of  gain  alone,  and  the 
anotives  of  mutual  interest,  which  are  the  most  pow- 
erful bonds  of  society,  and  without  any  interference 
on  the  part  of  the  government  in  colonization,  a  mine 
which  at  first  appeared  insulated  in  the  m.idst  of  wild 
and  desert  mountains,  becomes  in  a  short  time  con- 
nected with  the  lands  which  have  long  been  under  cul- 
tivation. 

Moreover,  this  influence  of  the  mines  on  the  pro- 
gressive cultivation  of  the  country  is  more  durable 
than  they  are  themselves.  When  the  seams  are 
exhausted,  and  the  subterraneous  operations  are  aban- 
doned, the  population  of  the  canton  undoubtedly 
diminishes,  because  the  miners  emigrate  elsewhere ; 
but  the  colonist  is  retained  by  his  attachment  for  the 
spot  where  he  received  his  birth,  and  which  his  fa- 
thers cultivated  with  their  hands.  The  more  lonely 
the  cottage  is,  the  more.it  has  charms  for  the  inhabit- 
ant of  the  mountains.  It  is  with  the  beginning  of 
civilizEi^tlon  as  with  its  decline  :  man  appears  to  re- 
pent of  the  constraint  which  he  has  imposed  on  him- 
self by  entering  into  society  ;  and  he  loves  solitude 
'because  it  restores  to  him  his  former  freedom.  This 
moral  tendency,  this  desire  for  solitude,  is  particularly 
manifested  by  the  copper- coloured  indigenous, 
whom  a  long  and  sad  experience  has  disgusted  with 
social  life,  and  more  especially  with  the  neighbour- 
hood of  the  whites.  Like  the  Arcadians,  the  Aztec 
people  love  to  inhabit  the  summits  and  brows  of  the 
steepest  mountains.  This  peculiar  trait  in  their  dis- 
position contributes  very  much  to  extend  population 
in  the  mountainous  regions  of  Mexico.  What  a 
pleasure  it  is  for  the  traveller  to  follow  these  peaceful 
conquests  of  agriculture,  and  to  contemplate  the  nu- 


CHAf.ix.]  KINGDOM  OP  NEW  SPAIN.  035 

mcrous  Indian  cottages  dispersed  in  the  wildest  ravins 
and  necks  of  cultivated  j^round  advancing  into  a  de- 
sert countr}'  between  naked  and  arid  rocks! 

The  plants  cultivated  in  these  elevated  and  solitary 
regions  differ  essentially  from  those  cultivated  on  the 
plains  below,  on  the  declivity  and  at  the  foot  of  the 
Cordilleras.  I  could  treat  of  the  agriculture  of  New- 
Spain,  following  the  great  divisions  which  I  have  al- 
ready laid  down  in  sketching  the  physical  view  of  the 
Mexican  territory ;  and  I  could  follow  the  lines  of 
cultivation  traced  on  my  geological  sections,  of  which 
the  elevations  have  partly  been  indicated  in  the  third 
chapter  ;*  but  it  is  to  be  observed  that  these  lines  of 
cultivation,  like  that  of  the  perpetual  snows  to  which 
they  are  parallel,  sink  towards  the  north,  and  that 
the  same  cerealia,  which  only  ■vegetate  abundantly 
under  the  latitude  of  Oaxaca  and  Mexico  at  a  height 
of  fifteen  or  sixteen  hundred  metres,  are  to  be  found 
in  the  pi'ovincias  intenias  under  the  temperate  zone 
in  plains  of  inferior  elevation.  The  height  requisite 
for  the  dift'erent  kinds  of  cultivation  depends,  in  gene- 
ral, on  the  latitude  of  the  places;  but  such  is  the 
flexibility  of  organization  in  cultivated  plants,  that 
with  the  assistance  of  the  care  of  man  they  frequently 
break  through  the  limits  assigned  to  them  by  the 
naturalist. 

Under  the  equator,  the  meteorological  phenomena, 
such  as  those  of  the  geography  of  plants  and  animals, 
are  subject  to  law^s  which  are  immutable  and  easily 
to  be  perceived.  The  climate  there  is  only  modi- 
fied by  the  height  of  the  place,  and  the  temperature 
is  nearly  const;int,  notwithstanding  the  difference  of 
seasons.  As  we  leave  the  equator,  especially  be- 
tween the  15th  degree  and  the  tropic,  the  climate 
depends  on  a  great  number  of  local  circumstances, 
and  varies  at  the  same  absolute  height,  and  under 

*  See  vol.  L  p.  50—52, 


286  POLITICAL  ESSAY- ON  THE  [book  iv. 

the  same  geographical  latitude.  This  influence  of 
localities,  of  Avhich  the  study  is  of  such  importance 
to  the  cultivator,  is  still  much  more  manifest  in  the 
northern  than  in  the  southern  hemisphere.  The 
great  breadth  of  the  new  continent,  the  proximity  of 
Canada,  the  winds  which  blow  from  the  north,  and 
other  causes  aheady  developed,  give  the  equinoxial 
region  of  Mexico  and  the  island  of  Cuba  a  particular 
character.  One  would  say  tliat  in  these  regions  the 
temperate  zone,  the  zone  of  variable  climates,  in- 
creases towards  the  south  and  passes  the  tropic  of 
Cancer.  It  is  sufficient  here  to  state  that  in  the  en- 
virons of  the  Havannah  (latitude  23^*  8')  the  ther- 
mometer has  been  seen  to  ascend  to  the  freezing  point 
at  the  small  elevation  of  80  metres*  above  the  level 
of  the  ocean, t  and  that  snow  has  fallen  near  Vallado- 
lid  (latitude  lO""  42')  at  an  absolute  elevation  of  1,900 
metres,:{:  while  under  the  equator  this  last  phenome- 
non is  only  observable  at  the  double  of  the  eleva- 
tion. 

These  considerations  prove  to  us  that  towards  the 
tropic,  where  the  torrid  zone  approaches  the  temperate 
zone,  (I  use  these  improper  names  from  their  being 
consecrated  by  cuv'om,)  tlie  plants  under  cultivation 

*262  feet.      Tra7is. 

t  M.  Robredo  has  seen  ice  formed  in  a  wooden  trough  iu 
the  month  of  January  at  the  village  of  Ubajos,  fifteen  rniles 
south-west  from  the  Havannah,  at  an  absolute  elevation  of  74 
metres,  (242  feet.)  I  myself  saw,  at  Rio  Blanco,  the  centi- 
grade thermometer  on  the  4th  January,  1801,  at  eight  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  at  7o,  5'  above  zero,  (45",  5'  of  Fahrenheit.) 
During  the  night  an  unfortunate  negro  perished  of  cold  in  a 
prison.  However,  the  mean  temperatures  of  the  months  of 
Decemlier  and  January  in  the  plains  of  the  island  of  Cuba 
are  17o  and  18o,  (62o  and  64'>  of  Fahrenheit.)  All  these  de- 
terminations were  made  Avith  excellent  thenTiometcrs  of 
Nairne. 

i  6,232  feet.      lYcns. 


-:ap.  I-.]  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  287 

are  not  subject  to  fixed  and  invariable  heights.  Wc 
might  be  led  to  distril)ute  them  according  to  the 
mean  temperature  of  the  places  in  which  they  vegetate. 
We  observe,  in  I'act,  that  in  Europe  the  minimum 
of  the  mean  temperature  which  a  proper  cultivation 
requires  is  for  the  sugar-cane,  from  19"  to  20" ;  for 
coffee  18";  for  the  orange  17";  for  the  olive  13", 
5'  to  14";  and  for  the  vine  yielding  wine  fit  to  be 
drunk  from  10"  to  11"  of  the  centigrade  thermome- 
ter.* This  thermometrical  asrricultural  scale  is  accu- 
rate  enough  when  we  embrace  the  phenomena  in 
their  greatest  generality.  But  numerous  exceptions 
occur  when  we  consider  countries  of  which  the  mean 
annual  heat  is  the  same,  while  the  mean  tempera- 
tures  of  the  months  differ  very  much  from  one 
another.  It  is  the  unequal  division  of  the  heatamonjj^ 
the  different  seasons  of  the  year  which  has  the  screatest 
influence  on  the  kind  of  cultivation  proper  to  such 
©r  such  a  latitude,  as  has  been  very  well  proved  by 
M.  Decandole.t  Several  annual  plants,  especially 
gramina  with  farinaceous  seed,  are  \ery  little  affected 
by  the  rigour  of  winter,  but,  like  fruit  trees  and  the 
vine,  require  a  considerable  heat  during  summer.  In 
part  of  Maryland,  and  especially  Virginia,  the  mean 
temperature  of  the  year  is  equal  and  perhaps  even 
superior  to  that  of  Lombardy ;  yet  the  severity  of 
winter  will  not  allow  the  same  vegetables  to  be  there 
cultivated  with  which  the  plains  of  the  Milanese  are 
adorned.  In  the  equinoxial  region  of  Peru  or 
Mexico,  rye  and  especially  wheat  attain  to  no  maturity 
in  plains  of  3,500  or  4,000  metics  of  elevation, ^I 
though  the  mean  heat  of  these  alpine  regions  exceeds 

•  From  600  to  6So ;  64^ ;  62o ;  froiTi  56°  3  to  57^ ;  and  from 
500  to  5lo  8  of  Fahrenheit.      Trana. 

t  Flore  frangoisc,  troisicme  edition,  t.  II.  p.  x. 

X  11.482  and  13,123  feet.      Trans. 


2^3  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  TrfE  [book  iv 

that  of  the  parts  of  Norway  and  Siberia,  in  which 
cerealia  are  successfully  cultivated.  But  for  about 
30  days  the  obliquity  of  the  sphere  and  the  short 
duration  of  the  nights  render  the  summer  heats  very 
considerable  in  the  countries  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
pole,*  while  under  the  tropics  or  the  table-land  of  the 
Cordilleras  the  thermometer  never  remains  a  whole 
day  above  ten  or  twelve  centigrade  degrees. 

To  avoid  mixing  ideas  of  a  theoretical  nature  and 
hardly  susceptible  of  rigorous  accuracy  with  facts, 
the  certainty  of  which  has  been  ascertained,  we  shall 
neither  divide  the  cultivated  plants  in  New  Spain  ac- 
cording to  the  height  of  the  soil  in  which  they  vege- 
tate most  abundantly,  nor  according  to  the  degrees  of 
mean  temperature  which  they  appear  to  require  for 
their  development ;  but  we  shall  arrange  them  in 
the  order  of  their  utility  to  society.  We  shall  begin 
with  the  vegetables'  v*^hich  form  the  principal  support 
of  the  Mexican  people ;  we  shall  afterwards  treat  of 
the  cultivation  of  the  plants  which  afford  materials  to 
manufacturing  industry  ;  and  we  shall  conclude  with 
a  description  of  the  vegetable  productions  which  arc 
the  subject  of  an  important  commerce  with  the  mo- 
ther country. 

The  banana  is  for  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  torpid 
zone  what  the  cereal  gramina,  wheat,  barle}^  and 
rye,  are  for  Western  Asia  and  for  Europe,  and  what 
the  numerous  varieties  of  rice  are  for  the  countries 
beyond  the  Indus,  especially  for  Bengal  and  China. 
In  the  two  continents,  in  the  islands  throughout  the 
immense  extent  of  the  equinoxial  seas,  wherever  the 
iTiean  heat  of  the  year  exceeds  twenty- four  centigrade 

*  At  Umea,  in  Westro-Botnia,  (latitude  6So  49',)  the  ex- 
tremes of  the  centigrade  thermometer  were,  in  1801,  in  sum- 
mer -j-  350,  in  winter  —  45o  7.  M.  Acerbi  complains  much  of 
the  great  summer  heats  in  th^  most  nortl^ern  part  of  Lap- 


c»A».ix.]  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN. 


289 


degrees,*  tlie  fruit  of  the  banana  is  one  of  the  most 
interesting  oI)jects  of  cultivation  for  the  subsistence 
of  man.     The  celebrated  traveller,  George  Forster, 
and  other  naturalists  after  him,  pretended  that  this  va- 
Uiable  plant  did  not  exist  in  America  before  the  ar- 
rival of  the  Spaniards,  but  that  it  was  imported  from 
the  Canary  Islands  in  th^-  beginning  of  the  16th  cen- 
tury.   In  tact  Oviedo,  who,  in  his  Natuial  History  of 
the   In(!ies,   very  carefully  distinguishes  the  indige- 
nous vegetables  from  those  which  were  introduced 
there,    positively   says  that  the   first   bananas   Were 
planted  in  1516,   in  the  island  of  St.  Domingo,  by 
Thomas  de  Beriangas,  a  monk  of  the  order  of  preach- 
ing friars.f     He   affirms,  that  he   himself   saw   the 
musa  cultivated  in  Spain,  near  the  town  of  Armeria, 
in  Granada,  and  in  the  convent  of  Franciscans  at  the 
island  of  la  Gran  Canaria,  where  Beriangas  procured 
suckers,  which  were  transported  to  Hispaniola,  and 
from  thence  successively  to  the  other  islands  and  to 
the  continent.     In  support  of  M.  Forster's  opinion 
it  may  also  be  stated,  that  in  the  first  accounts  of  the 
voyages    of  Columbus,    Alonzo   Negro,    Penzon, 
Vespucci, t  and  Cortez,  there  is  frequent  mention  of 
maize,  the  papayer,  the  jatropha  manihot,  and  the 
agave,  but  never  of  the  banana.     However,  the  si- 
lence of  these  first  travellers  only  proves  the  little  at- 
tention which  they  paid  to  the  natural  productions  of 
the  American  soil.     Hernandez,  who,  besides  me- 
dical plants,  describes  a  great  number  of  other  Mexi- 

*  750  of  Fahrenheit.     Trans. 

t  De  filantis  esculentis  commentatio  botanica,  1786,  p.  28. 
Histoire  naturelle  et  generate  des  Islea  et  terre  ferme  de  la 
grande  mer  oceane,  1556,  p.  112 — 114. 

\  Christophoi-i  Columbi  navigatio.  De  gentibus  ab  Alonzo 
repertis.  De  navigatione  Pinzoni  socij  admirantis.  Navi- 
gatio  Alberici  Vesputij.  See  Gryncei  orbis  nov.  editiO;  1555, 
p.  64.  84,  85.  87.  211. 

VOL.  II.  O   O 


-290  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  iv; 

can  vegetables,  makes  no  mention  of  the  musa.  Now 
this  botanist  lived  half  a  century  after  Oviedo,  and 
those  who  consider  the  musa  as  foreign  to  the  neW 
continent  cannot  doubt  that  its  cultivation  was  gene- 
ral in  Mexico  towards  the  end  of  the  16th  century, 
at  an  epoqua  when  a  crowd  of  vegetables  of  less  uti- 
lity to  man  had  already  been  carried  there  from  Spain, 
the  Canary  Islands,  and  Peru.  The  silence  of  au- 
thors is  not  a  sufficient  proof  in  favour  of  Mr.  Forst- 
er's  opinion. 

It  is,  perhaps,  with  the  true  country  of  the  bananas 
as  with  that  of  the  pear  and  cherry  trees.  The  pru-^ 
nus  aviu7n,  for  example,  is  indigenous  in  Germany 
and  France,  and  has  existed  from  the  most  remote 
antiquity  in  our  forests,  like  the  robur  and  tl^e  lin- 
den tree  ;  while  other  species  of  cherry  trees,  which 
are  considered  as  varieties,  become  permanent,  and 
of  which  the  fruits  are  more  savoury  than  the  prunus 
avium,  have  come  to  us  through  the  Romans  from 
Asia  Minor,*  and  particularly  from  the  kingdom  of 
Pontus.  In  the  same  manner,  under  the  name  of 
banana,  a  great  number  of  plants,  which  differ  es- 
sentially in  the  form  of  their  fruits,  and  which,  per- 
haps, constitute  true  species,  are  cultivated  in  the 
equinoxial  regions,  and  even  to  the  parallel  of  33  or 
34  degrees.  If  it  is  an  opinion  not  yet  proved,  that 
all  the  pear  trees  which  are  cultivated  descend  from 
the  wild  pear  tree  as  a  common  stock,  we  are  still 
more  entitled  to  doubt  whether  the  great  number  of 
constant  varieties  of  the  banana  descend  from  the 
musa  troglodytarum,  cultivated  in  the  Molucca 
Islands,  which  itself,  according  to  Gaertner,  is  not 

*  Den/ontaines,  Histoire  des  arbres  et  arbrisseaux  gut  fieu' 
vent,  etre  culttvers  sur  le  sol  de  la  France,  1809,  t.  II.  p.  208.  a 
work  which  contains  very  learned  and  curious  researches 
with  respect  to  the  country  of  useful  vegetables,  and  the 
ppoquaof  their  first  cultivation  in  Europe. 


CHAP.  IX.]  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  291 

perhaps  a  musa,  but  a  specks. of  tlie  genus  ravenala 
of  x\danson. 

The  musae,  or  pisangs,  described  by  Rumphius 
and  Rheede,  are  not  all  known  in  the  Spanish  colo- 
nies. Three  species,  however,  are  there  distinguish- 
ed,  still  very  imperfectly  determined  by  botanists, 
the  true  plutano  or  arton  (musa  paradisiaca  Lin  ?) 
the  camhur'i.,  (JVl.  Sapicntum  Lin?)  and  \h,^  dominico^ 
(M.  regia  Rumph  *?;  1  have  seen  a  fourth  species  of 
very  exquisite  taste  cultivated  in  Peru,  the  meiya  of 
the  South  Sea,  which  is  called  in  the  market  of  Lima 
the  platano  de  taiti,  because  the  first  roots  of  it  were 
brought  in  the  frigate  Aguila  from  the  island  of  Ota- 
heite.  Now  it  is  a  constant  tradition  in  Mexico  and 
all  the  continent  of  South  America,  that  the  platano 
arton  and  the  dominico  were  cultivated  there  long 
before  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards,  but  that  the  ^wi- 
neOf  a  variety  of  the  camburi,  as  its  name  proves, 
came  from  the  coast  of  Africa.  The  author,  who 
has  most  carefully  marked  the  different  epoquas  at 
which  American  agriculture  was  enriched  with  fo- 
reign  productions,  the  Peruvian  Garcilasso  de  la 
Vega*  expressly  says,  *'  that  in  the  time  of  the  In- 
cas,  the  maize,  quinoa,  potatoes,  and,  in  the  warm 
and  temperate  regions,  bananas,  constituted  the  basis 
of  the  nourishment  of  the  natives.  He  describes  the 
musa  of  the  valleys  of  tlie  Antis,  and  he  even  distin- 
guishes the  most  rare  species  with  small  sugary  and 

*  Comentarioa  Realea  de  tos  Licas,  \o\.  I.  p.  282.  The  small 
musky  banana,  the  dominicc^  the  fruit  of  which  appeared  to  me 
most  savoury  in  the  province  of  Jaen  do  Bracamorros  on  the 
banks  of  the  Amazon  and  the  Chamaya,  seems  to  be  the  same 
with  the  musa  maculata  of  Jacquin,  (hortus  Schoenbrunnen- 
sis,  tab.  446.)  and  with  the  musa  regia  of  Rumphius.  The 
latter  species  is  itself,  perhaps, but  a  variety  of  the  musr.  men- 
saria.  There  exists,  and  tlie  fact  is  very  curious,  in  tlie  fo- 
rests of  Amboina,  a  wild  banana,  of  which  the  fruit  is  with 
out  grains,  the  pisanf^  jacki,  (Rumph.  V.  p.  138.) 


292  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [bo«k  ly, 

aromatic  fruit,  the  dominicOy  from  the  common  or  ar- 
ton  banana.  Father  Acosta  also  affirms,*  though  not 
so  positively,  that  the  musa  was  cultivated  by  the 
Americans  before  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards.  "  The 
banana,"  says  he,  "  is  a  fruit  to  be  found  in  all  the 
Indies,  though  there  are  people  who  pretend  that  it  is 
a  native  of  Ethiopia,  and  that  it  came  from  thence 
into  America."  On  the  banks  of  the  Orinoco,  the 
Cassiquiare,  or  the  Beni,  among  the  mountains  dc 
I'Esmeralda  and  the  sources  of  the  river  Carony,  in 
the  midst  of  the  thickest  forests,  wherever  we  disco- 
ver Indian  tribes  who  have  had  no  connections  with 
European  establishments,  we  find  plantations  of  ma- 
nioc and  bananas. 

Father  Thomas  de  Berlangas  could  not  transport 
from  the  Canary  Islands  to  St.  Domingo  any  other 
species  but  the  one  which  is  there  cultivated,  the  cam- 
buri  (caule  nigrescente  striato  fructu  minore  ovato- 
elongato,)  and  not  the  platano  arton  or  zapalote  of  the 
Mexicans,  (caule  albo-virescente  laevi, fructu  longiore 
apicem  versus  subarcuato  acute  trigono.)  The  first 
of  these  species  only  grows  in  temperate  climates,  in 
the  Canary  Islands,  at  Tunis,  Algiers,  and  the  coast 
of  Malaga.  In  the  valley  of  Caraccas  also,  placed 
under  the  10"  30'  of  latitude,  but  at  900  metresf  of 
absolute  elevation,  we  find  only  the  camhuri  and  the 
dominicoy  (caule  albo-virescente,  fructu  minimo  obso- 
lete  trigono,)  and  not  the  platano  arton,  of  which  the 
fruit  only  ripens  under  the  influence  of  a  very  high 
temperature.  From  these  numerous  proofs  we  can- 
not doubt  that  the  banana  vvhich  several  tra\'ellers 
pretend  to  have  found  wild  at  Amboina,  at  Gilolo, 
and  the  Mariana  islands,  was  cultivated  in  America 
long  before  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards,  who  merely 

'*  Ilistoria  natural  dc  IrnlUis,   160G,  p.  :-5C. 
T  3,952  feet.      Tra::s. 


CHAP.  XX.]         KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  293 

augmented  the  number  of  the  indigenous  species. 
However,  we  are  not  to  be  astonished  that  there  was 
no  musa  seen  in  the  island  of  St.  Domingo  before 
1516.  Like  the  animals  around  them,  savages  gene- 
rally draw  their  nourishment  from  one  species  of 
plant.  The  forests  of  Guayana  afford  numerous  ex- 
amples of  tribes  whose  plantations  (comwos)  contain 
manihot,  arum  or  dioscorea,  and  not  a  single  banana. 

Notwithstanding  the  great  extent  of  the  Mexican 
table- land,  and  the  height  of  tlic  mountains  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  coast,  the  space  of  which  the 
temperature  is  favourable  for  the  cultivation  of  the 
musa  is  more  than  50,000  square  leagues,  and  in- 
habited by  nearly  a  million  and  a  half  of  inhabitants. 
In  the  warm  and  humid  Aalleys  of  the  intendancy  of 
Vera  Cruz,  at  the  foot  of  the  Cordillera  of  Orizaba, 
the  fruit  of  the  platano  arton  sometimes  exceeds 
three  decimetres,*  and  often  from  twenty  to  twenty- 
two  centimetresf  (from  7  to  8  inches)  in  length. 
In  these  fertile  regions,  especially  in  the  environs  of 
Acapulco,  San  Bias,  and  the  Rio  Guasacualco,  a  clus- 
ter  (regime)  of  bananas  contains  from  160  to  180  fruits, 
and  weighs  from  30  to  40  kilogrammes.| 

I  doubt  whether  there  is  another  plant  on  the  globe 
which  on  so  small  a  space  of  ground  can  produce  so 
considerable  a  mass  of  nutritive  substance.  Eight 
or  nine  months  after  the  sucker  has  been  planted,  the 
banana  commences  to  develop  its  clusters ;  and  the 
fruit  may  be  collected  in  the  tenth  or  eleventh  month. 
When  the  ^talk  is  cut,  we  find  constantly  among  the 
numerous  shoots  which  have  put  forth  roots  a  sprout 
{pimpollo)  which,  having  two-thirds  of  the  height  of 
the  mother-plant,  bears  fruit  three  months  later.  In 
this  manner  a  plantation  of  musa,  called  in  the  Spa- 

*  11.8  inches.     Trans.  t  7.87  to  8.66  inches.      Trans. 

I  From  66  to  88lb.  avoird.     Trmjs. 


^4  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  iv, 

nish  colonies  platanar,  is  perpetuated  without  any 
other  care  being  bestowed  by  man  than  to  cut  the 
stalks  of  which  the  fruit  has  ripened,  and  to  give  the 
earth  once  or  twice  a  year  a  slight  dressing  by  dig- 
ging round  the  roots.  A  spot  of  ground  of  a  hun- 
dred square  metres*  of  surface  may  contain  at  least 
from  thirty  to  forty  banana  plants.  In  the  space  of  a 
year,  this  same  ground,  reckoning  only  the  weight  of 
a  cluster  at  from  15  to  20  kilogrammes,!  yields  more 
than  two  thousand  kilogrammes,^  or  four  thousand 
pounds  of  nutritive  substance.  What  a  difference 
between  this  produce  and  that  of  the  cereal  gramina 
in  the  most  fertile  parts  of  Europe  !  Wheat,  sup- 
posing it  sown  and  not  planted  in  the  Chinese  man- 
ner, and  calculating  on  the  basis  of  a  decuple  harvest, 
does  not  produce  on  a  hundred  square  metres  more 
than  15  kilogrammes,^  or  30  pounds  of  grain.  In 
France,  for  example,  the  ^emi-hectare^  or  legal  arpenty 
of  1,344  1-2  square  toises||  of  good  land  is  soAvn  {a  la 
volee)  with  1601b.  of  grain,  and  if  the  land  is  not  so 
good  or  absolutely  bad  with  200  or  220  pounds.  The 
produce  varies  from  1,000  to  2,500  pounds  per  acre. 
The  potato,  according  to  M.  Tessie,  yields  in  Eu- 
rope on  a  hundred  square  acres  of  well  cultivated 
and  well  manured  ground,  a  produce  of  45  kilo- 
grammes,TI  or  90  pounds  of  roots.  We  reckon 
from  4  to  6,000  pounds  to  the  legal  arpent.  The 
produce  of  bananas  is  consequently  to  that  of  wheat 
as  133  :  1,  and  to  that  of  potatoes  as  44  :  1. 

Those  who  in  Europe  have  tasted  bananas  ripened 
in  hot-houses  have  a  difficulty  in  conceivingthatafruit 
which,  from  its  great  mildness,  has  some  resemblance 

*  1,076  square  feet.    Trans. 
t  From  33  to  44lb,  avoird.     Trans. 
■  4  4,414ib.  avoird.     Trans.  §  33lb.  avoircl.     2Vat:s. 

\\  54j995  square  feet.     Trarm.        1  99lb,  avoird.     Trans. 


GHAP.  «.]      KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  295 

to  a  dried  fig  can  be  the  prin«"jpal  nourishment  of 
many  millions  of  men  in  both  Indies.  We  seem  to 
forget  that  in  the  act  of  vegetation  the  same  elements 
form  very  difilrent  chemical  mixtures  according  as 
they  combine  or  separate.  How  should  we  even 
discover  in  the  lactcous  mucilage  which  the  grains 
ot  gramina  contain  before  the  ripening  of  the  ear  the 
farinaceous  pcrisperma  of  the  cerealia,  which  nourishes 
the  majority  of  the  nations  of  the  ttmperate  zone? 
In  the  musa,  the  formation  of  the  amylaceous  matter 
precedes  the  epoqua  of  maturity.  We  must  dis- 
tinguish between  the  banana  fruit  collected  when 
green,  and  what  is  allowed  to  grow  yellow  on  the 
plant.  In  the  second  the  sugar  is  quite  formed ; 
it  is  mixed  with  the  pulp,  and  in  such  abundance 
that  if  the  sugar-cane  was  not  cultivated  in  the  ba- 
nana region,  we  might  extract  sugar  from  this  fruit 
to  greater  advantage  than  is  done  in  Europe  from 
red  beet  and  the  grape.  The  banana,  when  gathered 
green,  contains  the  same  nutritive  principle  which  is 
observed  in  grain,  rice,  the  tuberose  roots,  and  the 
sagou,  namely,  the  amylaceous  sediment  united  with 
a  very  small  portion  of  vegetable  gluten.  By  knead- 
ing with  water  meal  of  bananas  dried  in  the  sun,  I 
could  only  obtain  a  few  atoms  of  this  ductile  and 
viscous  mass,  which  resides  in  abundance  in  the  pc- 
risperma, and  especially  in  the  embryo  of  the  cerea- 
lia. If,  on  the  one  hand,  the  gluten  which  has  so 
much  analogy  to  animal  matter,  and  which  swells 
with  heat,  is  of  great  use  in  the  making  of  bread  ; 
on  the  other  hand,  it  is  not  indispensable  to  render  a 
root  or  fruit  nutritive,  M.  Proust  discovered  gluten 
in  beans,  apples,  and  quinces  ;  but  he  could  not  dis- 
cover any  in  the  meal  of  potatoes.  Gums,  for  exam- 
ple, that  of  the  mimosa  nilotica,  (acacia  vera  Willd.) 
which  serves  for  nourishment  to  several  African 
tribes  in  their  passages  through  the  desert,  prove 
that  a  vegetable  substance  may  be  a  nutritive  aliment 


296  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  iv. 

without    containing   either    gluten  or   amylaceous 
matter. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  describe  the  numerous  pre- 
parations by  which  the  Americans  render  the  fruit 
of  the  musa,  both  be  fore  and  after  its  maturity,  a 
wholesome  and  agreeable  diet.  I  have  frequently 
seen  in  ascending  rivers,  that  the  natives,  after  the 
greatest  fatigues,  make  a  complete  dinner  on  a  very 
small  portion  of  manioc  and  three  bananas  [platano 
arton)  of  the  large  kind.  In  the  time  of  Alexander, 
if  we  are  to  credit  the  ancients,  the  philosophers  of 
Hindostan  were  still  more  sober.  "  Arbori  nomen 
pal<e  porno  arienag,  quo  sapientes  Indorum  vivunt. 
Fructus  admirabilis  succi  dulcedine  ut  uno  quater- 
nos  satiet."  (Plin.  XII.  12.)  In  warm  countries 
the  people  in  general  not  only  consider  sugary  sub- 
stances as  a  food  which  satisfies  for  the  moment,  but 
as  truly  nutritive.  J  have  frequently  observed,  that 
the  mule- drivers  who  carried  our  baggage  on  the 
coast  of  Caraccas  gave  the  preference  to  unprepared 
sugar  (papelon)  over  fresh  animal  food. 

Physiologists  have  not  yet  determined  with  preci- 
sion what  characterizes  a  substance  eminently  nutri- 
tive. To  appease  the  appetite  by  stimulating  the 
nerves  of  the  gastric  system,  and  to  furnish  matter 
to  the  body  which  may  easily  assimilate  with  it,  are 
modes  of  action  very  diiferent.  Tobacco,  the  leaves 
of  the  erythroxylon  cocca  mixed  with  quick  lime, 
the  opium  which  the  natives  of  Bengal  have  fre- 
quently used  for  whole  months  in  times  of  scarcity, 
will  appease  the  violence  of  hunger ;  but  these  sub- 
stances act  in  a  very  different  manner  from  wheaten 
bread,  the  root  of  the  jatropha,  gum-arabic,  the 
lichen  of  Iceland,  or  the  putrid  fish  which  is  the  prin- 
cipal food  of  several  tribes  of  African  negroes. 
There  can  be  no  doubt,  the  bulk  being  equal,  super- 
azoted  matter,  or  animals,  are  more  nutritive  than 
^Tgetable  matter ;  and  it  appears  that  among  vegeta- 


CHAF.IK.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN-  297 

bles  gluten  is  more  nutritive  than  starcli,  and  starch 
more  than  mucilage ;  but  we  must  beware  of  attri- 
buting to  these  insulated  principles  what  depends, 
in  the  action  of  the  aliment  on  living  bodies,  on  the 
varied  mixture  of  hydrogen,  carbonate,  and  oxygen. 
Hence  a  matter  becomes  eminently  nutritive  if  it  con- 
tains, like  the  bean  of  the  cocoa-tree  (theobroma 
cacao,)  besides  the  amylaceous  matter,  an  aromatic 
principle  which  excites  and  fortifies  the  nervous  sys- 
tem. 

These  considerations,  to  which  we  cannot  give 
more  development  here,  will  serve  to  throw  some 
light  on  the  comparisons  which  we  have  already  made 
of  the  produce  of  different  modes  of  cultivation.  If 
we  draw  from  the  same  space  of  ground  three  times 
as  many  potatoes  as  wheat  in  weight,  we  must  not 
therefore  conclude  that  the  cultivation  of  tuberous 
plants  will  on  an  equal  surface  maintain  three  times 
as  many  individuals  as  the  cultivation  of  cereal  gra- 
mina.  The  potato  is  reduced  to  the  fourth  part  of 
its  weight  when  dried  by  a  gentle  heat ;  and  the  dry 
starch  that  can  be  separated  from  2,300  kilogrammes, 
the  produce  of  half  a  hectare  of  ground,  would 
hardly  equal  the  quantity  furnished  by  800  kilogram- 
mes of  wheat.  It  is  the  same  with  the  fruit  of  the 
banana,  which  before  its  maturity,  even  in  the  state 
in  which  it  is  very  farinaceous,  contains  much  more 
water  and  sugary  pulp  than  the  seeds  of  gramina. 
We  have  seen  that  the  same  extent  of  ground  in  u 
favourable  climate  will  yield  106,000  kilogrammes  of 
bananas,  2,400  kilogrammes  of  tuberous  roots,  and 
800  kilogrammes  of  wheat.  These  quantities  bear  no 
proportion  to  the  number  of  individuals  which  can  Ije 
maintained  by  these  different  kinds  of  cultivation  on  the 
same  extent  of  ground.  The  aqueous  mucilage  which 
the  banana  contains,  and  the  tuberous  root  of  the  so- 
lanum,  possess  undoubted  nutritive  properties.  The 
farinaceous  pulp,  such  as  ispresented  by  nature,  yields 

VOL.    II.  p  p 


±(jQ  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE         [scok  »v- 

undoubtedly  more  aliment  than  the  starch  which  is 
separated  from  it  by  art.  But  the  weights  alone  do 
not  indicate  the  absohite  quantities  of  nutritive  matter; 
and  to  show  the  amount  of  the  aliment  which  the  culti- 
vation of  the  rausa  yields  on  tlie  same  space  of  ground 
to  man  more  than  the  cultivation  of  wheat,  we  ought 
rather  to  calculate  according  to  the  mass  of  vegetable 
substance  necessary  to  satisfy  a  full  grown  person. 
According  to  this  last  principle,  and  the  fact  is  very 
curious,  we  find  that  in  a  very  fertile  country  a  demi- 
hectare  or  legal  arpent,*  cultivated  with  bananas  of 
the  large  species,  Cplatano  arton.,)  is  capable  of  main- 
taining 50  individuals ;  when  the  same  arpent  in 
Europe  would  oniy  yield  annually,  supposing  the 
eighth  grain  576  kiiogrammesf  of  iiour,  a  quantity 
not  equal  to  the  subsistence  of  two  individuals.!  Ac- 
cordingl}^,  a  European  newly  arrived  in  the  torrid 
zone  is  struck  with  nothing  so  much  as  the  extreme 
smallness  of  the  spots  under  cultivation  round  a  cabin 
which  contains  a  numerous  family  of  Indians. 

The  ripe  frittt  of  the  musa,  when  exposed  to  the 
sun,  is  preserved  like  our  figs.  The  skin  becomes 
black  and  takes  a  particular  odour,  which  resembles 
that  of  smoked  ham.  The  fruit  in  this  state  is  called 
platano passado,  and  becomes  an  object  of  commerce 
in  the  province  of  Michuacan.  This  dry  banana  is 
an  aliment  of  an  agreeable  taste,  and  extremely  heal- 
thy. But  those  Europeans  who  newly  arrive  con- 
sider the  ripe  fruit  of  the /j/(3^iz;zo  arton,  newly  ga- 
thered, as  very  ill  to  digest.  This  opinion  is  ver\- 
ancient,  for  Pliny  relates  that  Alexander  gave  orders 

*  54^998  square  feet.      Trana. 
t  1,271  lb.  avoird.     Trans. 

\  We  have  calculated  on  the  following  principles:  100  ki- 
logrammes of  wheat  yield  72  kilogrammes  of  flour,  and  16 
kilogrammes  of  flour  are  convertible  into  21  kilogrammes  of 
bread.  The  maintenance  of  one  individual  is  computed  at 
547  kilogruinmes  (1,2071b.  avoird.)  annually. 


CHAT,  ix]  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  299 

to  his  soldiers  to  touch  none  of  the  baiian;is  Avliich 
grow  on  the  banks  of  the  Hyphasus.  Meal  is  ex-' 
tracted  from  tlic  musa  by  cuttincj  the  green  fiuit  into 
slices,  drying  it  in  the  sun  en  a  slope,  and  pounding  it 
when  it  becomes  friable.  This  ilour,  less  used  in 
Mexico  than  in  the  islands,*  may  serve  for  tlie  same 
use  as  flour  from  rice  or  maize. 

The  facility  with  which  the  banana  is  reproduced 
from  its  roots  giACS  it  an  extraordinary  advantage 
over  fruit  trees,  and  even  over  the  bread-fruit  tree, 
which  for  eight  months  in  the  year  is  loaded  with 
farinaceous  fruit.  When  tribes  are  at  war  with  one  . 
another  and  destroy  the  trees,  the  disaster  is  felt  for  a 
long  time,  A  plantation  of  bananas  is  renewed  by 
suckers  in  the  space  of  a  ^cw  months. 

We  hear  it  frequently  repeated  in  the  Spanish  colo- 
nies, that  the  inhabitants  of  the  warm  regions  (tierra 
caliente)  will  never  awake  from  the  state  of  apathy 
in  which  for  centuries  they  have  been  plunged,  till 
a  royal  ceclula  shall  order  the  destruction  of  the  ba- 
nana plantations,  [platajiaris.)  The  remedy  is  violent, 
and  those  who  propose  it  with  so  much  wailiith  do 
hot  in  general  display  more  activity  than  the  lower 
people,  whom  they  would  force  to  Avork  by  aug- 
mentinsr  the  number  of  their  wants.  It  is  to  be 
hoped  that  industry  will  make  progress  among  the 
Mexicans  without  recurring  to  means  of  destruction. 
When  we  consider,  however,  the  facility  with  which 
our  species  can  be  maintained  in  a  climate  where 
bananas  are  produced,  we  arc  not  to  be  astonished 
that  in  the  equinoxial  region  of  the  new  continent 
civilization  first  commenced  on  the  mountains  in  a 
soil  of  inferior  fertility,  and  under  a  sky  less  favour- 
able to  tiie  development  of  organized  beings,  ia 
whom  necessity  even  awakes  industry.  At  the  foot 
of  the  Cordillera,  in  the  humid  valleys  of  the    intcn. 

*  See  the  interesting  Memoir  of  M.  rle  Tussacj  in  his  Flur: 
ties,  AiUiUes,  p.  CO. 


300  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE          [book   iv. 

dancies  of  Vera  Cruz,  Valladolid,  and  Guadalaxara, 
a  man  who  merely  employs'two  days  in  the  week  in 
a  work  by  no  means  laborious  may  procure  subsist- 
ence for  a  whole  family.  Yet  such  is  the  love  of 
his  native  soil,  that  the  inhabitant  of  the  mountains, 
whom  the  frost  of  a  single  night  frequently  deprives 
of  the  whole  hopes  of  his  harvest,  never  thinks  of 
descending  into  the  fertile  but  thinly  inhabited  plains, 
where  nature  showers  in  vain  her  blessings  and  her 
treasures. 

The  same  region  in  which  the  banana  is  cultiva- 
ted produces  also  the  valuable  plant  of  which  the 
root  affords  the  flour  of  7)iamoc,  or  magncc.  The 
green  fruit  of  the  musa  is  eaten  dressed,  like  the 
bread  fruit,  or  the  tuberous  root  of  the  potato ;  but 
the  flour  of  the  manioc  is  converted  into  bread,  and 
furnishes  to  the  inhabitants  of  warm  countries  what 
the  Spanish  colonists  call  pan  cle  tierra  caliente.  The 
maize,  as  we  shall  afterwards  see,  affords  the  great 
advantage  of  being  cultivated  under  tropics,  from 
the  level  of  the  ocean  to  elevations  which  equal  those 
of  the  highest  summits  of  the  Pyrenees.  It  pos- 
sesses that  extraordinary  flexibility  of  organization 
for  which  the  vegetables  of  the  family  of  the  gra- 
mina  are  characterized ;  and  it  even  possesses  it  in  a 
higher  degree  than  the  cerealia  of  the  old  continent, 
vv^hich  suffer  under  a  burning  sun,  while  the  maize 
vegetates  vigorously  in  the  warmest  regions  of  the 
earth.  The  plant  whose  root  yields  the  nutritive 
flour  of  the  manioc  takes  its  name  {voxnjuca^  a  word 
of  the  language  of  Haity^  or  St.  Domingo.  It  is 
only  successfully  cultivated  within  the  tropics ;  and 
the  cultivation  of  it  in  the  mountainous  part  of 
Mexico  never  rises  above  the  absolute  height  of  six 
or  eight  hundred  metres.*  This  height  is  much 
surpassed  by  that  of  the  camhurij  or  banana  of  the 

*  1,968  and  2,624  feet.     Trans. 


CHAP.  IX.]  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  3qi 

Canaries,    a  plant  which  grows  nearer  the   central 
table-land  of  the  Cordilleras. 

The  Mexicans,  like  the  natives  of  t-.ll  equinoxial 
America,  have  cultivated,  from  the  remotest  anti- 
quity, two  kinds  oi'Jiwa,  which  the  botanists,  in  their 
inventory  oi'speciesy  have  united  under  the  name  of 
jatropha  manihot.  They  distinguish,  in  the  Spanish 
colony  the  sweet  {dulce)  from  the  tart  or  bitter 
(amarga)  juca.  The  root  of  the  former,  which  bears 
the  name  of  camagnoc  at  Cayenne,  may  be  eate:\ 
without  danger,  while  the  other  is  a  very  active 
poison.  The  two  may  be  made  into  bread;  how- 
ever, the  root  of  the  bitter  juca  is  generttlly  used  for 
this  purpose,  the  poisonous  juice  of  which  is  care- 
fully separated  from  the  Iccula  before  making  the 
bread  of  the  manioc,  called  cazavi,  or  cassave.  This 
separation  is  operated  by  compressing  the  root  after 
being  grated  down  in  the  cibiica?i,  which  is  a  species 
of  long  sack.  It  appears  from  a  passage  of  Oviedo 
(lib.  vii.  c.  2.)  that  the  juca  dulce,  which  he  calls 
boniafa,  and  which  is  the  huacamofe  of  the  Mexicans, 
was  not  found  originall}'^  in  the  West-Lidia  islands, 
and  that  it  was  transplanted  from  the  neighl:)ouring 
continent.  "  The  fjoniata,^^  says  Oviedo,  "  is  like 
that  of  the  continent ;  it  is  not  poisonous,  and  may 
be  eaten  with  its  juice  either  raw  or  prepared."  The 
natives  carefully  separate  in  their  fields  (conucos)  the 
two  species  of  jatropha. 

It  is  very  rem>arkable  that  plants,  of  which  the 
chemical  properties  are  so  ven,'  difierent,  are  yet  so. 
very  difficult  to  distinguish  from  their  exterior  cha- 
racters. Brown,  in  his  Natural  History  of  Jamaica, 
imagined  he  found  these  characters  in  disstxting  the 
leaves.  He  calls  the  sweet  juca,  sxveet  cassava^  ja- 
tropha foliis  palmatis  lobis  incertis;  and  the  bitterer 
tart  juca,  common  cassava,  jatropha  foliis  palmatis  pcn- 
tadactylibus.  But  having  examined  many  planta- 
tions of  manihot,  I  found  that  the  two  species  of  ja- 


302  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  iv. 

tropha,  like  all  cultivated  plants  with  lobed  or  pal- 
mated  leaves,  vary  prodigiously  in  their  aspect.  I 
observed  that  the  natives  distinguish  the  sweet  from 
the  poisonous  manioc,  no:  so  much  from  the  superior 
whiteness  of  the  stalk  and  the  reddish  colour  of  the 
leaves  as  from  the  taste  of  the  root,  which  is  not  tart 
or  bitter.  It  is  with  the  cultivated  jatropha  as  with 
the  sweet  orange-tree,  which  botanists  cannot  distin- 
guish from  the  bitter  orange-tree,  but  which,  how- 
ever, according  to  the  beautiful  experiments  of  M. 
Galesio,  is  a  primitive  species,  propagated  from  the 
.grain,  as  "v^ell  as  the  bitter  orange-tree.  Several 
naturalists,  from  the  example  of  Doctor  Wright,  of 
Jamaica,  hare  taken  the  sweet  juca  for  the  true  jatro- 
pha janipha  of  Linnseus,  or  the  jatropha  frutescens  of 
Loffling.*  But  this  last  species,  which  is  the  jatro- 
pha caHhagTiensis  of  Jacquin,  differs  from  it  essen- 
tially by  the  form  of  the  leaves,  (lobis  utrinque  sinua- 
tis,)  which  resemble  those  of  the  papayer.  I  very 
much  doubt  whether  the  jatropha  can  be  transform- 
ed by  culti\ation  into  the  jatropha  manihot.  It  ap- 
pears equally  improbable  that  the  sweet  juca  is  a  poi- 
sonous jatrq^ha,  which,  by  the  care  of  man,  or  the 
effect  of  a  '.ong  cultivation,  has  gradually  lost  the 
acidity  of  its  juices,  The  Juca  amarga  of  the  Ameri- 
can fields  haj  remained  the  same  for  centuries,  though 
planted  and  cultivated  like  the  Juca  dulce.  Nothing- 
is  more  mysterious  than  this  difference  of  interior 
organization  in  cultivated  vegetables,  of  which  the 
exterior  forms  are  nearly  the  same. 

Raynalf  has  advanced  that  the  manioc  was  trans- 
planted from  Africa  to  America  to  serve  for  the 
maintenance  of  the  negroes,  and  that  if  it  existed  on 
the  continent  before  the   arrival  of  the  Spaniards,  it 

*  Reza  til  Spanska  Loenderna,  1758,  p.  309. 
t  Hiatoire  Philosofihique,  torn.  iii.  p.  2  \2 — 2 1 4. 

4 


CHAP.  IX.]  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIH.  30,1 

\vas  not,  however,  knowii  by  the  natives  of  the  West 
Indies  in  the  thne  of  Columbus.  I  am  afraid  that 
tliis  celebrated  author,  who  describes,  however,  accu- 
rately enough  in  general  objects  of  natural  history,* 
has  confounded  the  manioc  with  the  ignames ;  that 
is  to  say,  the  jatropha  with  a  species  of  dioscorea. 
I  should  wish  to  know  by  what  authority  we  can 
prove  that  the  manioc  was  cultivated  in  Guinea 
from  the  remotest  period.  Several  travellers  have 
also  pretended  that  the  maize  grew  wild  in  this  part 
of  Africa,  and  yet  it  is  certain  that  it  was  transported 
there  by  the  Portuguese  in  the  16th  century.  Nothing 
is  more  difficult  to  resolve  than  the  problem  of  the 
migration  of  the  plants  useful  to  man,  especially  since 
communications  have  become  so  frequent  between 
all  continents.  Fernandez  deOviedo,  who  wentin  1515 
to  the  island  of  Hispaniola,  or  St.  Domingo,  and  who 
for  more  than  twenty  years  inhabited  difi'erent  parts 
of  the  new  continent,  speaks  of  the  manioc  as  of  a 
very  ancient  cultivation,  and  peculiar  to  America. 
If,  however,  the  negro  slaves  introduced  the  manioc, 
Oviedo  would  himself  have  seen  the  commencement 
of  this  important  branch  of  tropical  agriculture.  If 
he  had  believed  that  the  jatropha  was  not  indigenous 
in  America,  he  would  have  cited  the  epoqua  at  which 
the  first  maniocs  were  planted,  as  he  relates  in  the 
greatest  detail  the  first  introduction  of  the  sugar-cane, 
the  banana  of  the  Canaries,  the  olive,  and  the  date. 
Amerigo  Vespucci  relates  in  his  letter  addressed  to 
the  Duke  of  Loraine,t  that  he  saw  bread  made  of 
manioc  on  the  coast  of  Paria  in  1497.  "  The  na- 
tives," says  this  adventurer,  hi  other  respects  by  no 

*  This  character  of  Raynal  by  no  means  agrees  with  that 
given  by  Mr.  Edwards,  \vho  says  that  the  descriptions  in  Ray- 
nal are  in  general  no  more  to  be  relied  on  than  any  descrip- 
tion in  romance.      I'rans. 

t  Grynaus,  p.  215. 


301.  P(;LITICAL  essay  on  the  [book  IV. 

means  accumte  in  his  recital,  "  know  nothing  of  our 
corn,  and  our  farinaceous  graiiis ;  they  draw  their 
principal  subsistence  from  a  root  which  they  reduce 
into  meal,  which  some  of  them  call  juchay  others 
chambij  and  others  igname."  It  is  easy  to  discover 
the  word  J ucca  mjucha.  x\s  to  the  word  igname,  it 
now  means  the  root  of  the  dioscorea  alata,  Avhich 
Columbus*'  describes  under  the  name  of  ages^  and 
of  which  we  shall  afterwards  speak.  The  natives  of 
Spanish  Guayana  who  do  not  acknowledge  the  do- 
minion of  the  Europeans  have  cultivated  the  manioc 
from  the  remotest  antiquity.  Running  out  of  provi- 
sions in  repassing  the  rapids  of  the  Orinoco,  on  our 
return  from  the  Rio  Negro  we  applied  to  the  tribe 
of  Piraoas  Indians,  who  dwell  to  the  east  of  the 
Ma3'^pures,  and  they  supplied  us  with  jatropha  bread. 
There  can  therefore  remain  no  doubt  that  the  manioc 
is  a  plant  of  which  the  cultivation  is  of  a  much  earlier 
date  than  the  arrival  of  the  Europeans  and  Africans 
into  America. 

The  manioc  bread  is  very  nutritive,  perhaps  on 
account  of  the  sugar  which  it  contains,  and  a  vis- 
cous matter  which  unites  the  farinaceous  molecules 
of  the  cassava.  This  matter  appears  to  have  some 
analogy  with  the  Caoutchouc,  which  is  so  common 
in  all  the  plants  of  the  group  of  the  tithymaloides. 
They  give  to  the  cassava  a  circular  form.  The  disks, 
which  are  called  titrtas^  or  xauxau  in  the  old  lan- 
guage of  liaity,  have  a  diameter  of  from  five  to  six 
decimetres, t  or  three  millimetresj:  of  thickness.  The 
natives,  who  are  much  more  sober  than  the  whites, 
generally  cat  less  than  half  a  kilogramme  §  of  manioc 
per  day.  The  want  of  gluten  mixed  with  the  amy- 
laceous matter,  and  the  thinness  of  the  bread,  render 

*  Grynaua,  p.  215. 

t  From  19.685  inches  to  23.622  inches.      Trans. 

I  .1  IS  of  an  inch.      Trans.         §  About  a  pound.     Tran^. 


CHAP,  ir..}  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  305 

it  extremely  brittle  and  dillicult  of  transportation. 
This  inconvenience  is  particularly  lelt  in  long  navi- 
gations. The  fecula  of  manioc  grated,  dried,  and 
smoked,  is  almost  inalterable.  Insects  and  worms 
never  attack  it,  and  every  traveller  knows  in  equi- 
Koxial  America  the  advantages  of  the  coiiaque. 

It  is  not  only  the  fecula  oi^htjuca  amarga  which 
serves  for  nourishment  to  the  Indians,  they  use  also 
the  juice  of  the  root,  which  in  its  natural  state  is  an 
active  poison.     This  juice  is  decomposed  by   fire. 
When  kept  for  a  long  time  in  ebullition  it  loses  its 
poisonous  properties  gradually  as  it  is  skimmed.    It 
is  used  without  danger  as  a  sauce,  and  I  have  myself 
frequently  used  this  brownish  juice,  which  resembles 
a  very  nutritive  bouillon.     At  Cayenne*  it  is  thick- 
ened to  make  caOiou,  which  is  analogous  to  the  soui/ 
brought   from   China,    and  which  serves  to  season 
dishes.     From  time  to  time  ver}'"  serious  accidents 
happen  when  the  juice  has  not  been  long  enough  ex- 
posed to  the  heat.     It  is  a  fact  very  well  known  in 
the  islands,  that  formerly  -^  great  number  of  the  na- 
tives of  Haiti/  killed  themselves  voluntarily  by  the 
raw  juice  of  the  root  of  the  Juca  amarga.     Oviedo 
relates,  as  an  eye-witness,  that  these  unhappy  wretches, 
who,  like  many  African  tribes,  preferred  death  to  in- 
voluntary labour,  united  together  by  fifties  to  swal- 
low at  once  the  poisonous  juice  of  the  jatropha.   This 
extraordinary  contempt  of  life  characterizes  the  sa- 
vage in  the  most  remote  parts  of  the  globe. 

Reflecting  on  the  union  of  accidental  circumstances 
which  have  determined  nations  to  this  or  that  species 
of  cultivation,  ^v•e  are  astonished  to  see  the  Ameri- 
cans, in  the  midst  of  the  richness  of  their  country, 
seek  in  the  poisonous  root  of  a  tithymaloid  the  same 
amylaceous  substance  which  other  nations  have  found 

*  .4icblet  Hist,  dcs  Plantea  de  la  Gnavne  Francdse.^  torn.  ii. 
p.  72. 

VOL.  1 1.  o^q 


506  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  tv^ 

m  the  family  of  gramina,  in  bananas,  asparagus,  (dio- 
scorca  alata,)  aroides,  (arum  macrorrhizen.  Dra- 
contium  polypliillum,)  solana,  lizerons,  (convolvulus 
batatas,  c.  chrysorhizus,)  narcissi,  (taccapinnatifida,) 
polygonoi,  (p.  fagopyrum,)  urticse,  (artocarpus,  le- 
gumens)  and  arborescent  ferns,  (cycas  circinnalis.) 
We  ask  why  the  savage  who  discovered  the  jatropha 
manihot  did  not  reject  a  root  of  the  poisonous  quali- 
ties of  which  a  sad  experience  must  have  convinced 
him  before  he  could  discover  its  nutritive  proper- 
ties ?  But  the  cultivation  of  the  Juca  duice,  of  which 
the  juice  is  not  deleterious,  preceded  perhaps  that  of 
the  Juca  amarga^  from  which  the  manioc  is  now 
taken.  Perhaps,  also,  the  same  people  who  first  ven- 
tured to  feed  on  the  root  of  the  jatropha  manihot  had 
formerly  cultivated  plants  analogous  to  the  arum  and 
the  dracontium,  of  which  the  juice  is  acrid,  without 
being  poisonous.  It  was  easy  to  remark,  that  the 
fecula  extracted  from  the  root  of  an  aroid  is  of  a  taste 
so  much  the  more  agreeable,  as  it  is  carefully  washed 
to  deprive  it  of  its  milky  juice.  This  very  simple 
consideration  would  naturally  lead  to  the  idea  of  ex- 
pressing the  fecula,  and  preparing  it  in  the  same  man- 
ner as  the  manioc.  We  can  conceive  that  a  people 
who  knew  how  to  dulcify  the  roots  of  an  aroid  could 
undertake  to  nourish  themselves  on  a  plant  of  the 
gi'oup  of  the  euphorbia.  The  transition  is  easy, 
though  the  danger  is  continually  augmenting.  In 
fact,  the  natives  of  the  Society  and  Molucca  islands, 
%vho  are  unacquainted  with  the  jatropha  manihot, 
cultivate  the  arum  macrorrhizon  and  the  tacca  pin- 
natiiida.  The  root  of  this  last  plant  requires  the 
biime  precaution  as  the  manioc,  and  yet  the  tacca  bread 
competes  in  the  market  of  Banda  with  the  sagou 
bread. 

The  cultivation  of  the  manioc  requires  more  care 
than  that  of  the  banana.  It  resembles  that  of  pota- 
toes, and  the  harvest  takes  place  only  from  seven  to 


cuAT.ix.]  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  3^7 

eight  months  alter  the  slips  ha\e  been  planted.  The 
people  who  can  plant  the  jatropha  have  ahead}'  made 
great  advances  towards  civilization.  There  are  even 
varieties  of  tlie  manioc,  for  example,  those  which  are 
called  at  Cayenne  jnanioc  bois  blanc,  and  mimioc  mai- 
pourrl-rouge,  of  which  the  roots  can  only  be  pulled 
up  at  the  end  of  fifteen  months.  Tiie  savasjje  of  New 
Zealand  would  not  certainly  have  the  patience  to  wait 
for  so  tardy  a  harvest. 

Plantations  of  jatropha  manihot  are  now  found 
along  the  coast  from  the  mouth  of  the  river  of  Gua- 
sacualco  to  the  liorth  of  Santander,  and  from  Tehu- 
antepec  to  San  Bias  and  Sinaloa,  in  the  low  and 
warm  regions  of  the  intendancies  of  Vera  Cruz, 
Oaxaca,  Puebla,  Mexico,  Valladolid,  and  Guada- 
laxara.  M.  Aublet,  a  judicious  botanist,  who,  hap- 
pily, has  not  disdained  in  his  travels  to  inquire  into 
the  agriculture  of  the  tropics,  says  very  jusdy,  "that 
the  manioc  is  one  of  the  finest  and  most  useful  pro- 
ductions of  the  American  soil,  and  that  with  this 
plant  tlie  inhabitant  of  the  torrid  zone  could  dispense 
with  rice  and  every  sort  of  wheat,  as  well  as  all  the 
roots  and  fruits  which  serve  as  nourishment  to  the 
human  species." 

Maize  occupies  the  same  region  as  the  banana  and 
the  manioc  ;  but  its  cultivation  is  still  more  import- 
ant and  more  extensive,  especially  than  that  of  the 
two  plants  which  Ave  have  been  describing.  Ad- 
vancing towards  the  central  table- land  we  meet  with 
fields  of  maize  all  the  way  from  the  coast  to  the  val- 
ley of  Toluca,  which  is  more  than  2,800  meti-es* 
above  the  level  of  the  ocean.  The  year  in  which 
the  maize  harvest  fails  is  a  year  of  famine  and  misery 
for  the  inhabitants  of  Mexico. 

It  is  no  longer  doubted  among  botanists,  that  maize, 
or  Turkey  corn,  is  a  true   American  grain,  ar.d  that 

*  9,18.)  feet.      Trans. 


308  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  iv. 

the  ©Id  continent  received  it  from  the  new.  It  ap- 
pears also  that  the  cultivation  of  this  plant  in  Spain 
long  preceded  that  of  potatoes.  Oviedo,*  whose 
first  essay  on  the  natural  history  of  the  Indies  was 
printed  at  Toledo  in  1525,  says  that  he  saw  maize 
cultivated  in  Andalusia,  near  the  chapel  of  Atocha, 
in  the  environs  of  Madrid.  This  assertion  is  so 
much  the  more  remarkable  as  from  a  passage  of 
Hernandez,  (book  vii.  chap.  40.)  we  might  believe 
that  maize  was  still  unknown  in  Spain  in  the  time  of 
Philip  the  Second,  towards  the  end  of  the  16th  cen- 
tury. 

On  the  discovery  of  America  by  the  Europeans, 
the  zea  maize  (tluolli  in  the  Aztec  language,  mahiz 
in  the  Haitian,  and  cara  in  the  Quichua)  was  culti- 
vated from  the  most  southern  part  of  Chili  to  Penn- 
sylvania. According  to  a  tradition  of  the  Aztec 
people,  the  Toultecs,  in  the  7th  century  of  our  aera, 
were  the  first  who  introduced  into  Mexico  the  culti- 
vaiion  of  maize,  cotton,  and  pimento.  It  might 
happen,  however,  that  these  difierent  branches  of 
agiiculture  existed  before  the  Toultecs,  and  that  this 
nation,  the  great  civilization  of  which  has  been  cele- 
brated by  all  the  historians,  merely  extended  them 
successfully.  Hernandez  informs  us,  that  the  Ota- 
mites  even,  who  were  only  a  wandering  and  barba- 
rous people,  planted  maize.  The  cultivation  of  this 
grain  consequently  extended  beyond  the  Rio  Grande 
de  Santiago^  formerly  called  Tololotlan. 

The  maize  introduced  into  the  north  of  Europe 
suffers  from  the  cold  wherever  the  mean  temperature 
does  not  reach  seven  or  eight  degrees  of  the  centi- 
grade thermc  meter. t  We  there fpre  see  rye,  and 
especially  barley,  vegetate  vigorously  on  the  ridge  of 

*  Her  urn  Medicarum  j^>''ova  Hisfiania  Thesaurus^  1651,  lib. 
vii.  c.  40.  p.  247. 

t  44''  or  46"  of  Fahrenheit.     Trans. 


CHAP.  Tx.]  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  309 

the  Cordilleras,  at  heights  where,  on  account  of  the 
roughness  of  the  climate,  the  cultivation  of  maize 
would  be  attended  with  no  success.  But  on  the  other 
hand,  the  latter  descends  to  the  warmest  regions  of 
the  torrid  zone,  even  to  plains  Avhere  wheat,  barley, 
and  rye  cannot  develop  themselves.  Hence  on  the 
scale  of  the  different  kinds  of  cultivation,  the  maize, 
at  present,  occupies  a  much  greater  extent  in  the  equi- 
noxial  part  of  America  than  the  cerealia  of  the  old 
continent.  The  maize,  also,  of  all  the  grains  useful 
to  man,  is  the  one  whose  farinaceous  perisperma  has 
the  greatest  volume. 

It  is  commonly  believed  that  this  plant  is  the  only 
species  of  grain  known  by  the  Americans  before  the 
arrival  of  the  PLuropeans.  It  appears,  however,  cer- 
tain enough,  that  in  Chili  in  the  fifteenth  century,  and 
even  long  before,  besides  the  zea  maize  and  the  zea 
curagua,  two  gramina  called  magu  and  tuca  were 
cultivated,  of  which,  according  to  the  Abbe  Molina, 
the  first  was  a  species  of  rye,  and  the  second  a  spe- 
cies of  barley.  The  bread  of  this  araucan  bread 
went  by  the  name  of  covque^  a  word  which  afterwards 
was  applied  to  the  bread  made  of  European  corn.* 
Hernandez  even  pretends  to  have  found  among  the  In- 
dians of  Mechoacan  a  species  of  wheat,!  which,  ac- 
cording to  his  very  succinct  description,  resembles 
the  corn  of  abundance^  [triticum  compositum,)  \vhich 
is  believed  to  be  a  native  of  Egypt.  Notwithstand- 
ing every  information  which  I  procured  during  my 
stay  in  the  intendancy  of  Valladolid,  it  was  im- 
possible for  me  to  clear  up  this  important  point  in  the 
history  of  cerealia.  Nobody  there  knew  any  thing  of 
a  wheat  peculiar  to  the  country,  and  I  suspect  that 
Hernandez  gave  the  nanie  of  triticum  michuacaneme 

*  Molina^  Histoire  naturellc  du  Chili,  p.  101. 

\  Hernandez,  p.  VII.  43.    Clavigero,  I.  p.  56.  note  F. 


310  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  iv. 

to  some  variety  of  European  grain  become  wild  and 
growing  in  a  \try  lertile  soil. 

The  fecundity  of  the  tlaoiii,  or  Mexican  maize,  is 
beyond  any  diiiig'ihat  can  be  imagined  in  Europe. 
The  plant,  favoured  by  strong  heats  and  much  hu- 
midity, acquires  a  heigiu  of  from  two  to  three  me- 
tres.* In  the  beautiful  plains  which  extend  from  San 
Juan  del  Rio  to  Queretaro,  for  example  in  the  lands 
of  the  great  plantation  of  I'Esptranza,  one  fanega  of 
maize  produces  sometimes  eight  hundred.  Fertile 
lands  yield,  communibus  annis,  from  three  to  four 
hundred.  In  the  environs  of  Valladolid  a  harvest  is 
reckoned  bad  v/nich  yields  only  the  seed  130  or  150 
fold.  Where  the  soil  is  even  most  sterile  it  still  re- 
turns from  sixty  to  eighty  grains  for  one.  It  is  be- 
lieved that  we  may  estimate  the  produce  of  maize  in 
general,  in  the  equinoxial  region  of  the  kingdom  of 
New  Spain,  at  a  hundred  and  fifty  for  one.  The  val- 
ley of  Toluca  alone  yields  annually  more  than  600,000 
fanegasf  on  an  extent  of  thirty  square  leagues,  of 
which  a  great  part  is  cultivated  in  agave.  Between 
the  parallels  of  18^  and  22^  the  frosts  and  cold  winds 
render  this  cultivation  by  no  means  lucrative  on 
plains  whose  height  exceeds  three  thousand  metres.  J 
The  annual  produce  of  maize  in  the  intendancy  of 
Guadalaxara  is,  as  we  have  already  observed,  more 
than  80  millions  of  kilogrammes.  § 

Under  the  temperate  zone,  between  the  33"  and 
38°  of  latitude,  in  New  California,  for  example,  maize 
produces  in  general  only,  communibus  annis ^  from  70 to 

*  From  6  1-2  to  9  8-10  feet.     Trant. 

t  A.  fanega  weighs  four  arrobas  or  a  hundred  pounds,  in 
some  provinces  120  pounds,  (from  50  to  60  kilogrammes.) 
Author.     600,000  fanegas  therefore  =  66,21O,6O0lbs.     Trans. 

\  9,842  feet.      Trans. 

%  1 76,562, 400lbs.  avoirdupois.      Trans. 


CHAP.  IX.]          KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  311 

80  for  one.  By  comparing  the  manuscript  memoirs 
of  Father  Fermin  Lasuen,  which  I  possess,  with  the 
statistical  tal)lcs  published  in  the  historical  account  of 
the  voyage  of  M.  de  Cxaliano,  I  should  be  enabled  to 
indicate  village  by  village  the  quantities  of  maize 
sown  and  reaped.  I  find  diat,  in  1791,  twelve  mis- 
sions of  New  California*  reaped  7,625  fanegas  on  a 
piece  of  ground  sown  with  96.  In  1801,  the  harvest 
of  16  missions  was  4,661  fanegas,  while  the  quan- 
tity sown  only  amounted  to  66.  Hence,  for  the  former 
year,  the  produce  was  79,  and  for  the  latter,  70  for 
1.  This  coast  in  general  appears  better  adapted  for 
the  cultivation  of  the  cerealia  of  Europe.  However 
it  is  proved  by  the  same  tables,  that  in  some  parts  of 
New  California,  for  example,  hi  the  fields  belonging 
to  the  villages  of  San  Buenaventura  and  Capistrano, 
the  maize  has  frequently  yielded  from  180  to  200  for 
one. 

Although  a  great  quantity  of  other  grain  is  culti- 
vated in  Mexico,  the  maize  must  be  considered  as 
the  principal  food  of  the  people,  as  also  of  the  most 
part  of  the  domestic  animals.  The  price  of  this  com- 
modity modifies  that  of  all  the  others,  of  which  it  is, 
as  it  were,  the  natural  measure.  When  the  harvest  is 
poor,  either  from  the  want  of  rain  or  from  premature 
frost,  the  famine  is  general,  and  produces  the  most 
fatal  consequences.  Fowls,  turkeys,  and  even  the 
larger  cattle,  equally  suffer  from  it.  A  traveller  who 
passes  through  a  country  in  which  the  maize  has  been 
frost  bit,  finds  neither  egs;  nor  poultry,  nor  arepa 
bread,  nor  meal  for  the  atoll'i,  which  is  a  nutritive  and 
agreeable  soup.  The  dearth  of  provisions  is  espe- 
cially felt  in  the  environs  of  the  INIexican  mines  ;  in 
those  of  Guanaxuato,  for  example,  where  fourteen 
thousand  mules,  which  are  necessary  in  tlie  process 
of  amalgamation,    annually  consume  an  enormous 

*  Viagc  de  la   Sudl,  p.  163. 


312  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  ly 

quantity  of  maize.  We  have  already  mentioned  the 
influence  which  dearths  have  periodically  had  on  the 
progress  of  population  in  New  Spain.  The  frightful 
dearth  of  17B4  was  the  consequence  of  a  strong 
frost,  which  was  left  at  an  epoqua  when  it  was  least 
to  be  expected  in  the  torrid  zone,  the  28th  August, 
and  at  the  inconsiderable  height  of  1,800  metres* 
above  the  level  of  the  ocean. 

Of  all  the  gramina  cultivated  by  man  none  is  so 
unequal  in  its  produce.  This  produce  varies  in  the 
same  field  according  to  the  changes  of  humidity  and 
the  mean  temperature  of  the  year,  from  40  to  200  or 
300  for  one.  If  the  harvest  is  good,  the  colonist 
makes  his  fortune  more  rapidly  with  maize  than  with 
wheat ;  and  we  may  say  that  this  cultivation  partici- 
pates in  both  the  advantages  and  disadvantages  of  the 
vine.  The  price  of  maize  varies  from  two  livres 
ten  sous  to  25  livres  the  fanega.  The  mean  price  is 
live  livres  in  the  interior  of  the  country  ;  but  it  is  in- 
creased so  much  by  the  carriage,  that  during  my  stay 
in  the  intendancy  of  Guanaxuato,  ihejanega  cost  at 
Salamanca  9,  at  Queretaro  12,  and  at  San  Luis  Po- 
tosi  22  livres.  In  a  country  where  there  are  no  ma- 
gazines, and  where  the  natives  merely  live  from  hand 
to  mouth,  the  people  suffer  terribly  whenever  the 
maize  remains  for  any  length  of  time  at  two  piastres 
or  ten  livres  the  fanega.  The  natives  then  feed  on 
unripe  fruit,  on  cactus  berries,  and  on  roots.  This 
insufficient  food  occasions  diseases  among  them  ;  and 
it  is  observed  that  famines  are  usually  accompanied 
with  a  great  mortality  among  the  children. 

In  warm  and  very  humid  regions  the  maize  will 
yield  from  two  to  three  harvests  annually  ;  but  gene- 
rally only  one  is  taken.  It  is  sown  from  the  middle 
of  June  till  near  the  end  of  August.     Among  the 

*  5,904  feet.      Trans. 


GMAr.  IX.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  3^3 

numerous  varieties  of  this  gramen  there  is  one  of 
which  the  eur  ripens  two  months  after  the  grain  has 
been  sown.  Thi^  precious  variety  is  well  known  in 
Hungary,  and  M.  rarnientier  has  endeavoured  to 
introduce  the  cultivation  of  it  into  France.  The 
Mexicans  who  inhabit  the  shores  of  the  South  Sea 
give  the  preference  to  another,  which  Ovideo*  af- 
lirms  he  saw  in  his  time,  in  the  province  01  Nicara- 
gua, and  which  is  reaped  in  between  thirty  and  forty 
days.  I  remember  also  to  have  observed  it  near  To- 
mependa,  on  the  banks  of  the  river  of  the  Amazons  ; 
but  all  these  varieties  of  maize,  of  which  the  vegeta- 
tion is  so  rapid,  appear  to  be  of  a  less  farinaceous 
grain,  and  almost  as  small  as  the  zea  curagua  of 
Ciiiii. 

The  utility  which  the  x\mericans  draw  from  maize 
is  too  well  known  for  my  dwelling  on  it.  The  use 
of  rice  is  not  more  various  in  China  and  the  East  In- 
dies. The  ear  is  eaten  boiled  or  roasted.  The 
grain  when  beat  yields  a  nutritive  bread,  [arepa,) 
though  not  fermented  and  ill  baked,  on  account  of 
the  small  quantity  of  gluten  mixed  with  the  amyla- 
ceous fecula.  The  meal  is  employed  like  gruel  in 
the  boullies,  which  the  Mexicans  call  atoiiiy  in  which 
they  mix  sugar,  honey,  and  sometimes  even  ground 
potatoes.  The  botanist  Hernandezf  describes  six- 
teen species  of  atoUis  which  were  made  in  his  time. 

A  chemist  would  have  some  difficulty  in  prepa- 
ring the  innumerable  variety  of  spirituous,  acid,  or 
sugary  beverages,  which  the  Indians  display  a  particu- 
lar address  in  making,  by  infusing  the  grain  of  maize, 
in  which  the  sugary  matter  begins  to  develop  itself 
by  gemination.  These  beverages,  generally  known 
by  the  name  of  chicha,  have  some  of  them  a  resem- 

*  Lib.  VII.  c.    1.  p.  103.  t  Lib.  Vli.c.  40.  p.  244. 

VOL.  II.  R  r 


314  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  ir. 

blance  to  beer,  and  others  to  cider.  Under  the  mo- 
nastic government  of  the  Incas,  it  was  not  permitted 
in  Peru  to  manufacture  intoxicating  liquors,  especial- 
ly those  which  are  called  Finapu  and  Sora.*  The 
Mexican  despots  were  less  interested  in  the  public 
and  private  morals  ;  and  drunkenness  was  very  com- 
mon among  the  Indians  of  the  times  of  the  Aztec 
dynasty.  But  the  Europeans  have  multiplied  the 
enjoyments  of  the  lower  people  by  the  introduction 
of  the  sugar-cane.  At  present  in  every  elevation  the 
Indian  has  his  particular  drinks.  The  plains  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  coast  furnish  him  with  spirit  from  the 
sugar-cane,  (guarapo,  or  aguardiente  cle  cana,)  and  the 
chicha  de  manioc.  The  chicha  de  ?nais  abounds  on  the 
declivity  of  the  Cordilleras.  The  central  table-land 
is  the  country  of  the  Mexican  vines,  the  agave  plan- 
tations, which  supply  the  favourite  drink  of  the  na- 
tives, the  pulque  de  maguey.  The  Indian  in  easy 
circumstances  adds  to  these  productions  of  the  Ame- 
rican soil  a  liquor  still  dearer  and  rarer,  grape  brandy, 
[aguardiente  de  Castilla,')  partly  furnished  by  Eu- 
ropean commerce,  and  partly  distilled  in  the  coun- 
try. Such  are  the  numerous  resources  of  a  people 
who  love  intoxicating  liquors  to  excess. 

Before  the  arrival  of  the  Europeans,  the  Mexicans 
and  Peruvians  pressed  out  the  juice  of  the  maize- 
:italk  to  make  sugar  from  it.  They  not  only  con- 
centrated this  juice  by  evaporation  ;  they  knew  also 
to  prepare  the  rough  sugar  by  cooling  the  thickened 
svrup.  Cortez,  describing  to  the  Emperor  Charles 
V.  all  the  commodities  sold  in  the  great  market  of 
Tlatelolco,  on  his  entry  into  Tenochtitlan,  expressly 
names  the  Mexican  sugar.  "  There  is  sold,"  says 
he,  "  honey  of  bees  and  wax,  honei/  from  the  stalks 
of  maize ^  which  are  as  sweet  as  sugar-cane,  and  honey 

*  Garcilasso,  lib.  VIII.  c.  9.    (Toiii.  I.  p.  277.)  Acosta,  lib. 


CHAP.  IX.]  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  315 

from  a  shrub  called  by  the  people  maguc}'.  The  na- 
tives make  sugar  of  these  plains,  and  this  sugar  they 
also  sell."  The  stalk  of  all  the  gramina  contains  su- 
gary matter,  esijeci.iUy  near  the  knots.  The  quantity 
of  the  sugar  that  maize  can  furnish  in  tlie  temperate 
zone  api)ears,  however,  to  be  very  inconsiderable  ; 
but  under  the  tropics  its  fistulous  stalk  is  so  sugary, 
that  I  have  frequently  seen  the  Indians  sucking  it  as 
the  sugar-cane  is  sucked  by  the  negroes.  In  the  valley 
of  Toluca,  the  stalk  of  the  maize  is  squeezed  between 
cylinders,  and  then  is  prepared  from  its  fermented 
juice  a  spirituous  liquor,  called  pulque  de  mains,  or 
tlaoUi^  a  liqiror  which  becomes  a  very  important  ob- 
ject of  comnierce. 

From  the  statistical  tables  drawn  up  in  the  inten- 
dancy  of  Guadalaxara,  of  which  the  population  is 
more  than  half  a  million  of  inhabitants,  it  appears 
exti'cmely  probable  that,  comnninlhus  amiis,  the  actual 
produce  of  maize  in  all  new  Spain  amounts  to  more 
than  17  millions  of  faneinis,  or  more  than  800  mil- 
lions  of  kilogrammes*  of  weight.  This  gram  will 
keep  in  Mexico,  in  the  temperate  climates,  for  three 
years,  in  the  valley  of  Toluca  and  all  the  levels  of 
which  the  mean  temperature  is  below  14  centigrade 
degrees,!  for  five  or  six  years,  especially  if  the  dry 
stalk  is  not  cut  before  the  ripe  grain  has  been  some- 
what struck  with  the  frost. 

In  good  years  the  kingdom  of  New  Spain  produces 
much  more  maize  than  it  can  consume.  As  the 
country  unites  in  a  small  space  a  great  variety  of 
climates,  and  as  the  maize  almost  never  succeeds  a^: 
the  same  time  in  the  warm  region,  [tierras  calientes.,) 
and  on  the  central  table-land  in  the  tierras  frias,  the 
interior  commerce  is  singularly  vivified  by  the  trans- 

*  1,765  l-C  millions  of  pounds  avoirdupois.      Trann. 
t  570  of  Fahrenheit. 


316  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE         [bookiv. 

port  of  this  grain.  Maize,  compared  with  European 
grain,  has  the  disadvantage  of  containing  a  smaller 
quantity  of  nutritive  substance  in  a  greater  volume. 
This  circumstance,  and  the  difficulty  of  the  roads  on 
the  declivities  of  the  mountains,  present  obstacles  to 
its  exportation,  which  will  be  more  frequent  when  the 
construction  of  the  fine  causey  from  Vera  Cruz 
to  Xalapa  and  Perote  shall  be  finished.  The  islands 
in  general,  and  especially  the  island  of  Cuba,  con- 
sume an  enormous  quantity  of  maize.  These  islands 
are  frequently  in  want  of  it,  because  the  interest  of 
their  inhabitants  is  almost  exclusively  fixed  on  the 
cultivation  of  sugar  and  coffee  ;  although  it  has  been 
long  observed  by  well  informed  agriculturists, 
that  in  the  district  contained  between  the  Havannal]^ 
the  port  of  Batabano  and  Matanzas,  fields  cultivated 
with  maize  by  free  hands  yield  a  greater  net  revenue 
than  a  sugar  plantation,  for  which  enormous  advan- 
ces are  necessary  in  the  purchase  and  maintenance 
of  slaves  and  the  construction  of  edifices. 

If  it  is  probable  that  in  Chili  formerly,  besides 
maize,  there  were  two  other  gramina  with  farinaceous 
seed  sown,  which  belonged  to  the  same  genus  as 
our  barley  and  wheat,  it  is  no  less  certain  that  before 
the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards  in  America  none  of  the 
ccrealia  of  the  old  continent  were  known  there.  If 
wc  suppose  that  all  mankind  are  descended  from  the 
same  stock,  we  might  be  tempted  to  admit  that  the 
Americans,  like  the  Atlantes,*  separated  from  the 
rest  of  the  human  race  before  the  cultivation  of  wheat 
on  the  central  plains  of  Asia.  But  are  we  to  lose 
ourselves  in  fabulous  times  to  explain  the  ancient 
communications  which  appear  to  have  existed  be- 
tween the  two  continents  ?  In  the  time  of  Herodo- 
tus all  the  northern  part  of  Africa  presented  no  other 

*  See  the  opinion  of  Diodorus  Siculus.     Bibl.  lib.  TIL  fiagc 
Hkodom.  186. 


CHAp.  IX.]  KINGDOM  OF  NFAV  SPAIN.  317 

ngricultural  nations  but  the  Egypiiims  and  the  Car- 
thaginians.* In  the  intciior  of  Asia  the  tribes  of  the 
Mongol  race,  the  Hiong-n\i,  the  Burattcs,  the  Kalkas, 
and  the  Sifanes,  have  constantly  Hved  as  wandering 
shepherds.  Now,  iF  the  people  of  central  Asia,  or 
if  the  Lybians  of  Africa  could  have  passed  into  the 
new  continent,  neither  of  them  would  have  introdu- 
ced the  cultivation  of  cerealia.  The  want  of  these 
gramina  then  proves  nothing  cither  against  the  Asia- 
tic origin  of  the  Americans,  or  against  the  possibility 
of  a  very  recent  transmigration. 

The  introduction  of  European  grain  having  had 
the  most  beneficial  influence  on  the  prosperity  of  the 
natives  of  Mexico,  it  becomes  interesting  to  relate  at 
what  epoqua  this  new  branch  of  agriculture  com- 
menced. A  negro  slave  of  Cortez  found  three  or 
four  grains  of  wheat  among  the  rice  which  served  to 
maintain  the  Spanish  army.  These  grains  were  sown, 
as  it  appears,  before  the  3'car  1530.  History'  has 
brought  down  to  us  the  name  of  a  Spanish  lady, 
Maria  d'Escobar,  the  wife  of  Diego  de  Chaves,  who 
first  carried  a  few  p^rains  of  wheat  into  the  city  of 
Lima,  then  called  Rimac.  The  produce  of  the 
harvest  which  she  obtained  from  these  grains  was 
distributed  for  three  years  among  the  new  colonists 
so  that  each  farmer  received  twenty  or  thirty  grains. 
Garcilasso  already  complained  of  the  ingratitude  of 
his  countrymen,  who  hardly  knew  the  name  of 
Maria  d'Escobar.  We  are  ignorant  of  the  epoqua 
at  which  the  cultivation  of  cerealia  commenced  in 
Peru,  but  it  is  certain  that  in  1547  wheaten  bread  was 
hardly  known  in  the  city  of  Cuzccf     At  Quito  the 

*  Hecrcn  uOer  Jfrica,  p.  41. 

t  Commeiitarioi  reales,  ix.  24.  t.  ii.  p.  332.  "  Maria  de 
F.scobar,  digna  de  un  gran  estado,  llfvo  el  trigo  al  Peru.  Por 
otro  tanto  adoraronlos  gentiles  a  Ceren  fior  Diona,  y  de  eata 
nmtrona  r,o  lucieron  cntnla  los  de  ir,i  tierrn." 


318  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  iv. 

first  European  grain  was  sown  near  the  convent  of 
Saint  Francis  by  Fathtr  Josse  Rixi,  a  native  of  Gand, 
in  Flanders.  The  monks  still  show  there  with  en- 
thusiasm the  eartliern  vase  in  which  the  first  wheat 
came  from  Europe,  which  they  look  upon  as  a  pre- 
cious relic*  Why  have  not  every  where  the  names 
of  those  been  preserved,  who,  in  place  of  ravaging 
the  earth,  have  enriched  it  with  plants  useful  to  the 
human  race  ?t    - 

The  temperate  region,  especially  the  climate  ^vhen 
the  mean  heat  of  the  year  does  not  exceed  from  18 
to  19  centigrade  degrees, J  appears  most  favourable 
to  the  cultivation  of  cerealia,  embracing  under  this 
denomination  only  the  nutritive  gramina  known  to 
the  ancients,  namely,  wheat,  spelt,  barley,  oats,  and 
rye4  In  fact,  in  the  equinoxial  part  of  Mexico,  the 
cerealia  of  Europe  are  nowhere  cultivated  in  plains 
of  which  the  elevation  is  under  from  8  to  9  hundred 
metres; II  and  we  have  already  observed,  that  on  the 
declivity  of  the  Cordilleras  between  Vera  Cruz  and 
Acapulco,  we  .s^enerally  see  only  the  commencement 
of  this  cultivation  at  an  elevation  of  12  or  13  hundred 
metres.l^  A  long  experience  has  proved  to  the  in- 
habitants of  Xalapa  that  the  wheat  sown  around  their 

*  See  my  Tableaux  de  la  JVature,  t.  II.  p.  !66. 

t  Every  English  reader  will  recollect  the  fine  passage  in 
Gulliver's  Travels  on  this  subject.     Trans. 

I  640  and  66"  of  Fahrenheit.     Trans. 

§  Triticum  (vufo?,)  spelta  (^e«,)  hordeum  (jcf»c%,)  avena 
(^^uijxo;  of  Dioscorides,  and  not  the  /S^ojuoj  of  Theophrastus,) 
and  secale  (rkifir).)  I  shall  not  here  examine  if  wheat  and 
barley  were  really  cultivated  by  the  Romans,  and  if  Theo- 
phrastus and  Pliny  knew  our  secale  cereale.  Compare  Dios- 
cor.  ii.  116.  iv.  140.  page  Saracen.  1261  and  294.  with  Colu- 
mella, II.  10.  andTheophr.  VIIL  1—4.  withPlin.  II.  126. 

II  From  2,629  to  2,952  feet.     Trans. 
^  3,936  and  4,264  feet.      Tram. 

4  . 


CHAP.  IX.]  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  3iy 

city  vegetates  vigorously,  but  never  produces  a  single 
ear.  It  is  cultivated  because  its  straw  and  its  succu- 
lent leaves  serve  ibr  forage  [zacatc)  to  cattle.  It  is 
very  certain,  howc^ver,  that  in  the  kingdom  of  Gua- 
tiniala,  and  consequently  nearer  the  equator,  grain 
ripens  at  smaller  elevations  than  tb.at  of  the  town  of 
Xalapa.  A  particular  exposure,  the  cool  winds  which 
blow  in  the  direction  of  the  north,  and  other  local 
causes,  may  modify  the  influence  of  the  climate. 
I  have  seen  in  the  province  of  Caraccas  the  finest 
•harvests  of  wheat  near  Victoria  (latitude  10"  13')  at 
five  or  six  hundred  metres*  of  absolute  elevation  ; 
and  it  appears  that  the  wheaten  fields  which  surround 
the  Quatro  villas  in  the  island  of  Cuba,  (latitude 
21°  58',)  have  still  a  smaller  elevation.  At  the  Isle  of 
France  (latitude  20"  10')  wheat  is  cultivated  on  a  soil 
almost  level  with  the  ocean. 

The  F.uropcan  colonists  have  not  sufficiently  va- 
ried their  experiments  to  know  what  is  the  minimum 
of  height  at  wliich  cercalia  grow  in  the  equinoxial 
region  of  Mexico.  The  absolute  want  of  rain  daring 
the  summer  months  is  so  much  the  more  unfavour- 
able to  the  wheat  as  the  heat  of  the  climate  is  greater. 
It  is  true  that  the  droughts  and  heats  are  also  very 
considerable  in  Syria  and  Egypt ;  but  this  last  coun- 
try, which  abounds  so  much  in  grain,  has  a  climate 
which  differs  essentially  from  that  of  the  torrid  zone, 
and  the  soil  preserves  a  certain  degree  of  humidity 
from  the  beneficent  inundations  of  the  Nile.  How- 
ever, the  vegetables,  which  are  of  the  same  kind 
with  our  cerealia,  grow  only  wild  in  temperate  cli- 
mates, and  even  in  those  only  of  the  old  continent. 
With  the  exception  of  a  few  gigantic  arundinaceous, 
which  are  social  plants^  the  gramina  appear  in  general 
infinitely  rarer  in  the  torrid  zone  than  in  the  tempe- 

*  1, CIO  or  lj968  ftet.     Trant. 


'320  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  iv. 

rate  zone,  where  they  have  the  ascendancy,  as  it  were, 
over  the  other  vegetables.  We  ought  not,  then,  to 
be  astonished  that  the  cerealia,  notwithstanding  the 
^Yt^ii  jlexibilitLj  of  organization  attributed  to  them, 
and  which  is  common  to  them  with  the  domestic 
animals,  thrive  better  on  the  central  table-land  of 
Mexico,  in  the  hilly  region,  where  they  find  the 
climate  of  Rome  and  Milau,  than  in  the  plains  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  equinoxial  ocean. 

Were  the  soil  of  New  Spain  watered  by  more  fre- 
quent rains,  it  would  be  one  of  the  most  fertile  coun- 
tries cultivated  by  man  in  the  two  hemispheres. 
The  hero,*  who,  in  the  midst  of  a  bloody  w^ar,  had 
his  eyes  continually  fixed  on  every  branch  of  national 
industry,  Hernan  Cortez,  wrote  to  his  sovereign 
shortly  after  the  siege  of  Tenochtitlan  :  "All.  the 
plants  of  Spain  thrive  admirably  in  this  land.  We 
shall  not  proceed  here  as  we  have  done  in  the  isles, 
where  we  have  neglected  cultivation  and  destroyed 
the  inhabitants.  A  sad  experience  ought  to  render 
us  more  prudent.  I  beseech  your  majesty  to  give 
orders  to  the  Casade  Contratacionoi^'c\i\\<t,  that  no 
vessel  set  sail  for  this  country  without  a  certain 
quantity  of  plants  and  grain."  The  great  fertility 
of  the  Mexican  soil  is  incontrovertible,  but  the  want 
of  water,  of  which  we  have  spoke  in  the  third  chapter, 
frequently  diminishes  the  abundance  of  the  har- 
vests. 

There  are  only  two  seasons  known  in  the  equi- 
noxial region  of  ^Jexico  even  as  far  as  the  28n  of 
north  latitude :  the  rainy  season,  {estacioji  de  las 
ag.ms,)  Vvhich  begins  in  the  month  of  June  or  July, 
and  ends  in  the  month  of  September  or  October,  and 
the  dry  season,  (el  estio,)  which  lasts  eight  months, 
from  /October  to  the  end  of  May.     The  first  rains 

*  Letter  to  the  Emperor  Charles,  dated  from  the  great 
city  ot"  Temixtitian  the  15th  October,  15'24. 


^HAP.  IX.]  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  50 1 

generally  commence  on  the  eastern  declivity  of  the 
Cordillera.  The  formation  of  the  clouds  and  the 
precipitation  of  the  water  dissolved  in  the  air,  com- 
mence on  the  coast  of  Vera  Cruz.  These  phenomena 
are  accompanied  with  strong  electrical  explosions, 
which  take  place  successively  at  Mexico,  Guada- 
iaxara,  and  on  the  western  coast.  The  chemical  action 
as  propagated  from  east  to  west  in  the  direction  of  the 
trade  winds,  and  the  rains  begin  fifteen  or  twenty  days 
sooner  at  Vera  Cruz  than  on  the  central  table- land. 
Sometimes  we  see  in  the  mountain,  even  below  2,000 
metres*  of  absolute  height,  rain  mixed  with  rime 
{gresil)  and  snow  In  the  months  of  November,  De- 
cember, and  January  ;  but  these  rains  are  very  short, 
and  only  last  from  four  to  five  days ;  and  however 
cold  they  may  be,  they  are  considered  as  very  useful 
for  the  vegetation  of  wheat  and  the  pasturages.  In 
Mexico  in  general  as  in  Europe,  the  rains  are  most 
frequent  in  the  mountainous  regions,  especially  in  that 
part  of  the  Cordilleras  which  extends  from  the  Pic 
d'Orizaba  by  Guanaxuato,  Sien'a  dePinos,  Zacatecas, 
and  Bolanos,  to  the  mines  of  Guarisamey  and  the 
Rosario. 

The  prosperity  of  New  Spain  depends  on  the  pro- 
portion established  between  the  duration  of  two  sea- 
sons of  rain  and  drought.  The  agriculturist  has 
seldom  to  complain  of  too  great  a  humidity,  and  if 
sometimes  the  maize  and  the  cercalia  of  Europe  are 
exposed  to  partial  inundations  in  the  plains,  of  which 
several  form  circular  basins  shut  in  by  the  mountains, 
the  grain  sown  on  the  slopes  of  the  hills  vegetates 
with  so  much  the  greater  vigour.  From  the  parallel 
©f  24"  to  that  of  30"  the  rains  are  seldomer  and  of 
short  duration.  Happily  the  snow,  of  which  there 
is  great  abundance  from  the  26"  of  latitude,  supplies 
the  w^ant  of  rain. 

*  6,561  feet.     Trans. 
VOL.  II.  S  S 


322  rOLiTICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  iv. 

The  extreme  drought  to  which  New  Spam  is  ex- 
posed from  the  month  of  Jane  to  the  month  of  Sep- 
tember compels  the  inhabitants  in  a  great  part  of  this 
x^ast  country  to  have  recourse  to  artificial  irrigations. 
The  harvests  of  wheat  are  rich  in  proportion  to  the 
water  taken  from  the  rivers  by  means  of  canals  of 
irrigation.  This  system  is  particularly  followed  in 
the  fine  plains  which  border  the  river  Santiago,  called 
Rio  Grande^  and  in  those  between  Salamanca,  Ira- 
puato,  and  the  villa  de  Leon.  Canals  of  irrigation, 
{(icequiaSj)  reservoirs  of  water,  [presas,)  and  the  hy- 
draulical  machines  called  norias,  are  objects  of  the 
greatest  importance  for  Mexican  agriculture.  Like. 
Persia  and  the  lower  part  of  Peru,  the  interior  of  New 
Spain  is  infinitely  productive  in  nutritive  gramina 
wherever  the  industry  of  man  has  diminished  the 
natural  dryness  of  the  soil. 

Nowhere  does  the  proprietor  of  a  large  farm  more 
frequently  feel  the  necessity  of  employing,  engineers 
skilled  in  surveying  ground  and  the  principles  of 
hydraulic  constructions.  However,  at  Mexico,  as 
elsewhere,  those  arts  have  been  preferred  which 
please  the  imagination  to  those  which  are  indispen- 
sable to  the  wants  of  domestic  life.  They  possess 
architects,  who  judge  learnedly  of  the  beauty  and 
symmetry  of  an  edifice ;  but  nothing  is  still  so  rare 
there  as  to  find  persons  capable  of  constructing  ma- 
chines, dikes,  and  canals.  Fortunately  the  feeling  of 
their  w^ait  has  excited  the  national  industr}^  and  a 
certain  sagacity  peculiar  to  all  mountainous  people 
supplies  in  some  sort  the  want  of  instruction. 

In  the  places  ^vhich  are  not  artificially  watered  the 
Mexican  soil  yields  only  pasturage  to  the  months  of 
March  and  April.  At  this  period,  when  the  south- 
west wind,  which  is  dry  and  warm,  [vicnto  de  la  Mis- 
ieca^  frequently  blows,  all  verdure  dis:ippears,  and 
the  gramina  and  other  herbaceous  plants  gradually 
dry  up.     This  change  is  more  sensibly  felt  when  the 


CKAP.ix.]         KINGDOM  01'  NEW  SPAIN.  3;23 

rains  of  the  ])rccecliiii:^  year  liuve  been  less  nbunduiit 
and  the  sunimcr  has  been  wanner.  The  wheat  then, 
esj^ecially  in  the  month  of  May,  sufitrs  nuich  if  it 
is  not  artifieially  w  atcred.  'llie  rain  only  exciles  the 
vegetation  in  the  month  of  June  ;  with  the  first  falls 
the  fields  become  covered  with  verdure;  the  foliage 
of  the  trees  is  renewed ;  and  the  European  who  re- 
calls to  his  mind  incessantly  the  climate  of  his  native 
country  cnjoj*s  doubly  this  season  of  the  rains,  be- 
cause it  preiients  to  him  the  image  of  spring. 

In  indicating,  ihe  dry  and  rainy  montlis  we  have 
described  the  course  which  the  meteorological  pheno- 
mena commonly  foUovv'.  For  several  yeais,  however, 
these  phenomena  appear  to  have  deviated  from  the 
general  law,  and  the  exceptions  have  unfortunately 
been  to  the  disadvantage  of  agriculture.  The  rains 
have  become  more  rare,  and  especially  more  tardy. 
The  year  in  which  I  visited  the  Volean  de  Jorullo  the 
season  of  rain  ^vas  three  whole  months  later  than 
usual ;  it  began  in  the  month  of  September,  and  only 
lasted  till  towards  the  middle  of  November.  It  is 
observed  in  Mexico  that  the  maize,  which  suffers 
much  more  than  the  wheat  from  the  frosts  in  autumn, 
has  the  advantage  of  recovering  more  easily  after  long 
ch-oughts.  In  the  intendancy  of  Valladoiid,  between 
Salamanca  and  the  lake  of  Cuizeo,  I  have  seen  fields 
of  maize  which  were  believed  to  be  destroyed  vege- 
tate with  an  astonishing  \igoin'  after  two  or  three  days 
of  rain.  The  great  breadth  of  the  leaves  undoubtedly 
contributes  greatly  to  the  nutiition  and  vegetative 
force  of  this  American  gramen. 

In  the  farms  {haciendas  de  trigo)  in  which  the  sys- 
tem of  irrigation  is  well  established,  in  those  of  Silao 
and  Irapuato,  for  example,  near  Leon,  the  wheat  is 
twice  watered;  first,  when  the  young  plant  springs  up 
in  the  month  of  January  ;  and  the  second  time  in  the 
beginning  of  March,  when  the  car  is  on  the  point  of 
developing  itself.     Sometimes  even  the  whole  field  is 


324  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE         [book  i v. 

inundated  before  sowing.  It  is  observed,  that  in 
allowing  the  water  to  remain  for  several  weeks, 
the  soil  is  so  impregnated  with  humidity  that  the 
wheat  resists  more  easily  the  long  droughts.  They 
scatter  the  seed  [semer  a  la  voUe)  at  the  moment 
when  the  waters  begin  to  Row  from  the  opening  of 
the  canals.     This  method  bring-s  to  mind  the  culti- 

o 

vation  of  wheat  in  Lower  Egypt,  and  these  prolonged 
inundations  diminish  at  the  same  time  the  abundance 
of  the  parasitical  herbs  which  mix  with  the  harvest  at 
reaping,  and  of  which  a  part  has  unfortunately  past 
into  America  with  the  European  grain. 

The  riches  of  the  harvests  are  surprising  in  lands 
carefully  cultivated,  especially  in  those  which  are 
watered  or  properly  separated  by  different  courses  of 
labour.  The  most  fertile  part  of  the  table-land  is 
that  which  extends  from  Queretaro  to  the  town  of 
Leon.  These  elevated  plains  are  thirty  leagues  in 
length  by  eight  or  ten  in  breadth.  The  wheat  har- 
vest is  .35  and  40  for  1,  and  several  great  farms  can 
even  reckon  on  50  or  60  to  1.  I  found  the  same 
fertility  in  the  fields  which  extend  from  the  village  of 
Santie».go  to  Yurirapundaro  in  the  intcndancy  of  Val- 
ladolid.  In  the  environs  of  Puebla,  Atlisco,  and  Ze- 
laya,  in  a  great  part  of  the  bishoprics  of  Mechoacan 
and  Guadalaxara,  the  produce  is  from  20  to  50  for  1. 
A  field  is  considered  tiiere  as  far  from  fertile  when  a 
fanega  of  wheat  yields  only,  commujubus  annis^  16 
fanegas.  At  Cholula  the  common  harvest  is  from 
30  to  40,  but  it  frequently  exceeds  from  70  to  80  for 
1.  In  the  valley  of  Mexico,  the  maize  yields  200, 
andlhe  wheat  18  or20.  I  have  to  observe,  that  the 
numbers  v.hich  I  here  give  have  all  the  accuracy 
which  can  be  desired  in  so  important  an  object  for  the 
knovv'iedgc  of  territorial  riches.  Being  eagerly  desi- 
rous of  knowing  the  produce  of  agriculture  under  the 
tropics,  I  procured  all  the  information  on  the  very 
spots  ;  and  I  compared  together  the  data  with  which  I 


CHA>.  ix]  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  325 

was  furnished  by  intelligent  colonists,  who  inhabit- 
ed provinces  at  a  distance  from  one  another.  I  was 
induced  to  be  so  much  the  more  precise  in  this  ope- 
ration, as  from  having  been  born  in  a  country  where 
grain  scarcely  produces  four  or  five  for  one,  I  was 
naturall}'  more  apt  than  another  to  be  disposed  to 
suspect  the  exaggerations  of  agriculturists,  exagge- 
rations which  are  the  same  in  Mexico,  China,  and 
wherever  the  vanity  of  the  inhabitants  v/ishcs  to  take 
advantage  of  the  credulity  of  travellers. 

I  am  av.are  that  on  account  of  the  great  inequality 
with  which  different  countries  sow,  it  would  have 
been  better  to  compare  the  produce  of  the  haivcst 
with  the  extent  of  ground  sown  up.  But  the  agra- 
rian measures  are  so  inexact,  and  there  are  so  lev/ 
farms  in  Mexico  in  which  we  know  with  precision. the 
number  of  square  toises  or  varas  which  they  contain, 
that  I  was  obliged  to  confine  myself  to  tlie  simple 
comparison  between  the  wheat  reaped  and  the  wheat 
sown.  The  researches  to  which  I  applied  myself 
during  my  stay  in  Mexico,  gave  me  for  result,  com- 
munibus  a/inis,  the  mean  produce  of  all  the  country  at 
22  or  25  for  1.  Wl.en  I  returned  to  Europe  I  began 
again  to  entertain  doubts  as  to  the  precision  of  this 
important  result,  and  I  should  perhaps  have  hesitated 
to  publish  it,  if  I  had  not  had  it  in  my  power  to  con- 
sult on  this  subject  quite  recently  and  in  Paris  even, 
a  respectable  and  enlightened  person  who  has  inhabit- 
ed the  Spanish  colonies  these  th.irty  years,  and  who 
applied  himself  with  great  success  to  agriculture.  M. 
Abad,  a  canon  of  the  metropolitan  church  of  Valla- 
dolid  de  Mechoacan,  assured  me,  that  from  his  cal- 
culations the  mean  produce  of  the  Alexican  wheat 
far  from  being  below  twenty-two  grains,  is  probably 
from  25  to  30,  which,  according  to  the  calculations 
of  Lavoisier  and  Neckar,  exceeds  from  five  to  six 
times  the  mean  produce  of  France. 

Near  Zelaya,  the  agriculturists  ::.howcd   mc  the 


326  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  iv. 

enormous  difference  of  produce  between  the  lands 
artificially  watered  and  those  which  are  not.  The 
former,  which  receive  the  water  of  the  Rio  Grande, 
distributed  by  drains  into  several  pools,  yield  froni 
40  to  50  for  1  ;  while  the  latter,  which  do  not  enjoy 
the  benefit  of  irrigation,  only  yield  fifteen  or  twenty. 
The  same  fault  prevails  here  of  v/hich  airricultuml 
writers  complain  in  almost  every  country  of  Europe, 
that  of  employing  too  much  seed,  so  tliat  the  grain 
choaks  itself.  Were  it  not  for  this  the  produce  of 
the  harvests  w^ould  still  appear  greater  than  what  we 
have  stated. 

It  may  be  of  use  to  insert  here  an'  obser\'ation* 
made  near  Zelaya  by  a  person  worthy  of  confidence, 
and  very  much  accustomed  to  researches  of  this  na- 
ture.    M.  Abad  took  at  random,  in  a  fine  field  of 
wheat  of   several  acres    in    extent,    foity  wheaten 
plants,  {triticum  hybemum ;)    he  put    the  roots  in 
water  to  clear  them  of  all  earth,  and  he  found  that 
every  grain  had  produced  forty,  sixty,  and  even  se- 
venty  stalks.     The  ears  were  almost  all  equally  well 
furnidied.     The  number  of  grains  which  they  con- 
tamed  was  reckoned,  and  it  was  found  that  this  num- 
ber iTcqucntly  exceeded  a  hundred,  and  even  a  hun- 
dred and  twenty.     The  mean  term  appeared  ninety. 
Some   ears  even  contained   a    hundred  and    sLxty 
grains.     What  an  astonishing  example  of  fertility  !  It 
IS  remarked,   in  general,  that  wheat  divides  enor- 
mously in  the  Mexican   fields,   that   from  a  single 
grain  a  great  number  of  stalks  shoot  up,   and  that 
each  plant  has  extremely  long  and  bushy  roots.    The 
Spanish  colonists  call  this  efiect  of  the  vigour  of  vege- 
tation el  macollar  del  trigo. 
^  To  the  north  of  this  very  fertile  district  of  Zelaya, 

Salamanca,  and  Leon,  the  country  is  arid  in  the  ex- 

< 

*  Sobre  la  frrtilidad  de  las  tierraa  en  la  Xueva  Esfiana  po^^ 
Don  Mannd  Abad  y  Queifio,  (MS.  note.) 
4 


CHAP.  IX.]  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAi:^.  ^27 

treme,  without  rivers,  without  springs,  and  present- 
ing vast  extents  of  crusts  of  hiirckned  clay,  [tepetate^) 
which  tlije  cultivators  call  hard  and  cold  lands,  and 
through  which  the  roots  of  tlie  herbaccQus  plants 
with  diiHculty  penetrate.  These  beds  of  clay,  which 
I  also  found  in  the  kingdom  of  Quito,  resemble  at  a 
distance  banks  of  rock  destitute  of  every  sort  of 
vegetation.  They  belong  to  the  trapphh  formation^ 
and  constantly  accompany  on  the  ridge  of  the  Andes 
of  Peru  and  Mexico  the  basaltes,  the  griinstein,  the 
amygdaloid,  and  the  amphibolic  porphyry.  But  in 
other  parts  of  New  Spain,  in  the  beautiful  valley  of 
Santiago,  and  to  the  south  of  the  town  of  Valladolid, 
the  decomposed  basaltes  andamygdaloids  have  form- 
ed-in  the  succession  of  ages  a  black  and  very  pro- 
ductive earth.  The  fertile  fields  which  surround  the 
Alberca  of  Santias^o  brino:  to  mind  tlie  basaltic  dis- 
tricts  of  the  Mittelo:ebir2;e  of  Bohemia. 

We  have  already  described,"^  when  treating  of  the 
particular  statics  of  the  countrj^,  the  deserts  without 
water  which  separate  New  Biscay  from  New  Mexi- 
co. All  the  table-land  which  extends  from  Sombre- 
rete  to  the  Saltillo,  and  from  thence  towards  la  Pun- 
ta  de  Lampazos,  is  a  naked  and  arid  plain,  in  v.'hicli 
cactus  and  other  prickly  plants  only  vegetate  !  The 
sole  vestige  of  cultivation  is  on  some  points,  where, 
as  around  the  town  of  the  Saltillo,  the  industry  of  man 
has  procured  a  little  water  for  the  watering  of  the 
fields.  We  have  also  traced  a  view  of  Old  Califor- 
nia,! of  which  the  soil  is  a  rock  both  destitute  of  earth 
and  water.  All  these  considerations  concur  to  prove 
what  we  have  advanced  in  the  preceding  book,  that 
on  account  of  its  extreme  dryness  a  considerable  part 
of  New  Spain  situated  to  the  north  of  the  tropic  is 
not  susceptible  of  a  great  population.  Hence  v.hat  a 
remarkable  contrast  between  the  physiognomy  of  tvvo 

»  Chup.  VIII.  t  Ibid. 


328        '  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE         [book  iv. 

neighbouring  countries,  between  Mexico  and  the 
United  States  of  North  America  !  In  the  latter,  the 
soil  is  one  vast  forest,  intersected  by  a  great  number 
of  rivers,,  which  flow  into  spacious  gulfs  ;  while 
Mexico  presents  from  east  to  west  a  wooded  shore, 
and  in  its  centre  an  enormous  mass  of  colossal  moun- 
tains, on  the  ridge  of  which  stretch  out  plains  destitute 
of  wood,  and  so  much  the  more  arid,  as  the  tempe- 
rature of  the  ambient  air  is  augmented  by  the  rever- 
beration of  the  solar  rays.  In  the  north  of  New 
Spain,  as  in  Thibet,  Persia,  and  all  the  mountainous 
regions,  a  part  of  the  country  will  never  be  adapted 
for  the  cultivation  of  cerealia  till  a  concentrated  and 
highly  civilized  population  shall  have  vanquished  the 
obstacles  opposed  by  nature  to  the  progress  of  rural 
economy.  But  this  aridity,  we  repeat  it,  is  not  ge- 
neral ;  and  it  is  compensated  for  by  the  extreme  fer- 
tility observable  in  the  southern  countries,  even  in 
that  part  of  the  provincias  internas  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  rivers,  in  the  basins  of  the  Rio  del  Norte,  the 
Gila,  the  Hiaqui,  the  Mayo,  the  Culiacan,  the  Rio 
del  Rosario,  the  Rio  de  Conchos,  the  Rio  de  Santan- 
der,  the  Tigre,  and  the  numerous  torrents  of  the  pro- 
vince of  Texas. 

In  the  most  northern  extremity  of  the  kingdom, 
on  the  coast  of  New  California,  the  produce  of  wheat 
is  from  16  to  17  for  1,  taking  the  mean  term  among 
the  harvests  of  eighteen  villages  for  two  years.  I  be- 
lieve that  agriculturists  will  peruse  with  pleasure  the 
detail  of  these  harvests  in  a  country  situated  under  the 
same  parallel  as  Algiers,  Tunis,  and  Palestine,  be- 
tween the  32°  39'  and  37^  48'  of  latitude. 


CHAP.  IX.] 


KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN. 


329 




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^  (Ti  ^  -f)  ■■/:  'li  •fi  ^Vi  ^  'Xi  XT.  tr.  'fi  'Ji  'Xi 


c  a 
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VOL.    II. 


Tt 


330  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  xv. 

It  appears  that  the  most  northern  part  of  this  coast 
is  less  favourable  to  the  cultivation  of  wheat  than  that 
which  extends  frorn  San  Diego  to  San  Miguel, 
However,  in  newly  cultivated  grounds  the  produce 
of  the  soil  is  more  unequal  than  in  lands  which  have 
been  long  under  cultivation,  though  we  observe  in 
no  part  of  New  Spain  that  progressive  diminution 
of  fertility  which  is  so  distressing  to  new  colonists 
wherever  forests  have  been  converted  into  arable 
land. 

Those  who  have  seriously  reflected  on  the  riches  of 
the  Mexican  soil  know  that  by  means  of  a  more  care- 
ful cultivation,  and  without  supposing  any  extraordi- 
nary labour  in  the  irrigation  of  the  soil,  the  portion  of 
ground  already  under  cultivation  might  furnish  sub- 
sisrence  for  a  population  eight  or  ten  times  more  nu- 
merous. If  the  fertile  plains  of  Atlixco,  C'lolula, 
and  Puebia,  do  not  produce  very  abundant  harvests, 
the  principal  cause  ought  to  be  sought  for  in  the 
want  of  consumers,  and  in  the  obstacles  opposed  by 
the  inequality  of  the  soil  to  the  interior  commerce  of 
grain,  especially  to  its  carriage  towards  the  Atlantic 
coast.  We  shall  afterwards  return  to  this  interesting 
subject  when  we  come  to  treat  of  the  exportation 
from  Vera  Cruz. 

What  is  actually  the  produce  of  the  grain  harvest 
in  the  whole  of  New  S])ain?  We  can  conceive  hovf 
difficult  must  be  the  resolution  of  this  problem  in  n 
country  where  the  government,  since  the  death  of  the 
Count  de  Revillagigedo,  has  been  very  unfavourable 
to  statistical  researches.  In  France,  even  the  estima- 
tions of  Quesnay,  Lavoisier,  and  Arthur  Young, 
vary  from  forty-five  and  fifty  to  seventy-five  millions 
of  septiersof  117  kilogrammes  m  weight.*     1  have 


*  11,620, 12,911,  and  19,366  millions  of  pounds  avoirdupois. 
Trans. 


CHAP.  IX.]      KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  33 ^ 

no  positive  data  as  to  tlie  quantity  of  rye  and  oats 
reaped  in  Mexico,  but  1  conceive  myscll"  enabled  to 
calculate  approximately  the  mean  produce  of  wheal. 
The  most  sure  estimate  in  Europe  is  the  computed 
consumption  of  each  individual.  This  method  was 
successfully  employed  by  MM.  Lavoisier  and  Ar- 
nould  ;  but  it  is  a  method  which  cannot  be  followed 
in  the  case  of  a  population  composed  of  very  hete- 
rogeneous elements.  The  Indian  and  Mestizo,  the 
inhabitants  of  the  country,  are  only  fed  on  maize  and 
manioc  bread.  The  white  Creoles  who  live  in  great 
cities  consume  much  more  wheaten  bread  than  those 
who  habitually  live  on  their  farms.  The  capital, 
which  includes  more  than  33,000  Indians,  requires- 
annually  19  millions  of  kilogrammes  of  flour.  This 
consumption  is  almost  the  same  as  that  of  the  cities 
of  Europe  of  an  equal  population ;  and  if,  according 
to  this  basis,  we  were  to  calculate  the  consumption  of 
the  whole  kingdom  of  New  Spain,  we  should  attain 
to  a  result  which  would  be  five  times  too  high. 

From  these  considerations  I  prefer  the  method 
which  is  founded  on  partial  estimations.  The  quan- 
tity of  wheat  reaped  in  1802  in  the  intendancy  of 
Guadalaxara  was,  according  to  the  statistical  table 
communicated  by  the  intendant  of  this  province  to 
the  chamber  of  commerce  at  Vera  Cruz,  43,000 
cargas,  or  645,000  kilogrammes.  Now  the  popula- 
tion of  Guadalaxara  is  nearly  a  ninth  of  the  total 
population.  In  this  part  of  Mexico  there  is  a  great 
number  of  Indians  who  eat  maize  bread,  and  there 
are  few  populous  cities  inhabited  by  whites  in  easy 
circumstances.  According  to  the  analogy  of  this 
partial  harvest,  the  general  harvest  of  New  Spain 
would  only  be  59  millions  of  kilogrammes.  But  if 
we  add  36  millions  ol  kilogrammes  on  account  of 
the  beneficial  influence  of  the   consimiptioii  of  the 


332 


POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE         [iiooK   iv. 


cities*  of  Mexico,  Puebla,  and  Guanaxuato,  on 
the  cultivation  of  the  circumjacent  districts,  and  on 
account  of  the  provincias  intemas,  of  which  the 
inhabitants  live  almost  exclusively  on  wheaten  bread, 
we  find  for  the  whole  kingdom  nearly  ten  millions 
of  myriagrammes,t  or  more  than  800,000  setiers. 
This  estimate  gives  too  small  a  result,  because 
in  the  above  calculation  we  have  not  suitably 
separated  the  northern  provinces  from  the  equinoxial 
regions.  This  separation  is  dictated,  however,  by  the 
very  nature  of  the  population. 

In  the  provincias  intemas  the  greatest  number  of 
the  inhabitants  are  either  white  or  reputed  white ; 
and  they  are  calculated  at  400,000.  Supposing  their 
consumption  of  wheat  equal  to  that  of  the  city  of 
Puebla,  we  shall  find  six  millions  of  myriagrammes. 

*  Chap.  VIII.  Statistical  Analysis,  vol.  II.  p.  57.  I  formed 
from  accurate  materials  in  my  possession  the  follovfing  table, 
in  which  the  consumption  in  meal  is  compared  with  the  num- 
ber ot  inhabitants. 


Cities. 

Consumption 
Of  meal. 

Population. 

Mexico 

Puebla 

The  Havannah 

Paris 

Kilogrammes 

19,100,000 

7,790,000 

5,230,000 

76,000,000 

137,000 
67,300 
80,000 

547,000 

As  to  the  consumption  of  Paris,  see  the  curious  researches 
of  M.  Peuchei  in  his  S'atistique  Elementaire  de  la  Franc f.^  p, 
372.  The  common  people  at  the  Havannah  eat  a  great  deal 
of  cassava  and  arepa.  The  annual  consumption  of  the  Ha- 
vannah is,  on  a  mean  tern^  of  four  years,  427,018  arrobas  or 
58.899  ban-iltit^  {Papcl  fieriodko  de  la  Hava?ina,  1801,  n.  12.  p. 
46) 

tUpv.ardsof  220  1-2  millions  of  pounds  avoird,     Trari.i. 


CHAP.  IX.]  KINGDOM  or  NEW  SPAIN.  ^33 

We  may  admit,  calculaling  according  to  the  annual 
harvest  of  the  intendancy  of  Guadalaxara,  that  in  the 
southern  regions  of  New  Spain,  of  which  the  mixed 
population  is  estimated  at  5,437,000,  the  consump- 
tion of  wheat  in  the  country  amounts  to  5,800,000 
myriagrammes.  If  we  add  3,600,000  myriagram- 
mes  for  tlie  consumption  of  the  great  interior  cities 
of  Mexico,  Puebla,  and  Guanaxuato,  we  shall  find 
the  total  consumpfion  of  New  Spain  above  15  m/il- 
lions  of  myriagrammes,*  or  1,280,000  setiers  of  240 
pounds. 

We  might  be  astonished  to  find  from  this  calcula- 
tion that  the  provincias  intenias,  of  which  the  popula- 
tion is  only  a  fourteenth  of  the  whole  population, 
consume  more  than  the  third  of  the  harvest  of  Mexi- 
co. But  we  must  not  forget  that  in  these  northern 
provinces  the  number  of  whites  is,  to  the  total  mass  of 
Spaniards,  (Creoles,  and  Europeans,)  as  one  to  three,! 
and  that  it  is  principally  this  cast  by  which  the 
wheaten  flour  is  consumed.  Of  the  800,000  whites 
who  inhabit  the  equinoxial  region  of  New  Spain, 
nearly  150,000  live  in  an  excessively  warm  climate 
in  the  plains  adjacent  to  the  coast,  and  feed  on  manioc 
and  bananas.  These  results,  I  repeat,  are  merely 
simple  approximations ;  but  it  appeared  to  me  so 
much  the  more  interesting  to  publish  them,  as,  du- 
ring my  stay  in  Mexico,  they  already  fixed  the  at- 
tention of  the  government.  We  are  sure  of  exciting 
the  spirit  of  research  when  we  advance  a  fact  which 
interests  the  whole  nation,  and  as  to  which  calcula- 
tions have  never  before  been  ventured. 

*  331  millions  of  pounds  avoird.     Trans. 

t  In  a  former  part  of  this  work  the  number  of  whites  in 
the  provincias  inlcrr.as  were  stated  as  nearly  a  fourth  of  the 
whole  white  inhabitants.  See  note  by  the  translator,  vol.  II. 
p.  246.  on  the  difficulty  of  accounting  for  a  million  in  the  total 
estimate  of  inhabitants  in  New  Spain.     2>an,9, 


334  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  iv. 

In  France  the  whole  grain  harvest,  that  is  to  say, 
wheat,  rye,  and  barley,  was,  according  to  Lavoisier, 
before  the  revolution,  and  consequently  at  a  period 
when  the  population  of  the  kingdom  amounted  to 
25  millions  of  inhabitants,  58  millions  of  setiers, 
or  6,786  millions  of  kilogrammes.  Now,  according 
to  the  authors  of  the  Feuille  du  Cultivateur,  the  wheat 
reaped  in  France  is  to  the  whole  mass  of  grain  as 
5  :  17.  Hence  the  produce  of  wheat  alone  was,  pre- 
vious to  1789,  seventeen  millions  of  setiers,  which, 
taking  merely  absolute  quantities,  and  without  con- 
sidering the  populations  of  the  two  empires,  is  nearly 
13  times  more  than  the  produce  of  wheat  in  Mexico. 
This  comparison  agrees  very  well  with  the  bases  of 
my  anterior  estimation.  •  For  the  number  of  inhabit- 
ants of  New  Spain  who  habitually  live  on  wheaten 
bread  does  not  exceed  1,300,000  ;  and  it  is  well 
known  that  the  French  consume  more  bread  than 
the  Spanish  race,  especially  those  who  inhabit 
America. 

But  on  account  of  the  extreme  fertility  of  the  soil, 
the  fifteen  millions  of  myriagrammes  annually  pro- 
duced by  New  Spain  are  reaped  on  an  extent  of 
ground  four  or  five  times  smaller  than  would  be  re- 
quisite for  the  same  harvest  in  France.  We  may 
expect,  it  is  true,  as  the  Mexican  population  shall 
increase,  that  this  fertility,  which  may  be  called  me- 
dium, and  which  indicates  a  total  produce  of  24  for  1, 
will  decrease.  Everywhere  men  begin  with  the 
cultivation  of  the  least  arid  lands,  and  the  mean  pro- 
duce must  naturally  diminish  when  agriculture  em- 
braces a  greater  extent,  and,  consequently,  a  greater 
variety  of  ground.  But  in  a  vast  empire  like  Mexico 
this  effect  can  only  be  very  tardy  in  its  manifesta- 
tion, and  the  industty  of  the  inhabitants  increases 
with  the  popuiiiiion  and  the  number  of  increasing 
wants. 


u^iAP.  IX.]         KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  335 

Wc  shall   collect   into  one  table  the    knowledge 
which  we  have  acquired  as  to  the  mean  produce  of 
the  cert-alia  in  the  two  continents.     We  are  not  here 
adducing  examples  of  an  extraordinary  fertility  ob- 
servable in  a   small  extent  of  ground,  nor  of  grain 
sown  according  to  the  Chinese  method.     The  pro- 
duce would  nearly  be  the  same  in  every  zone,  if,  in 
choosing  our   ground,   we  were  to  bestow  the  same 
•are  on   cerealia  which   we  bestow  on  our    garden 
plants.     But  in  treating  of  agriculture  in  general,  wc 
speak  merely  of  extensive  results,   of  calculations, 
in  which  the  total  harvest  of  a  country  is  considered 
as  the  multiple  of  the   quantity  of  wheat   sown.     It 
will  be  found  that  this  multiple,  which  may  be  con- 
sidered as  one  of  the  first  elements  of  the  prosperity 
of  nations,  varies  in  the  following  manner  : 
5    to    6  grains  for   one,   in    France,   according   to 
Lavoisier  and   Neckar.     We  estimate,   with  M. 
•  Pcuchct,  that  4,400,000  arpens  sown  with  wheat 
yield  annually  5,280  millions  of  pounds,  which 
amounts  to    1,173    kilogrammes    per    hectare.* 
This  is  also  the  mean  produce  in  the  north  of 
Germany,  Poland,  and,   according   to  M.  Rlihs, 
in    Sweden.     They   reckon    in    France   in  some 
remarkably  fertile  districts  of  the  departments  of 
I'Escaut  and  le  Nord  15  for  1 ;   in  the  good  land 
of  Picardy  and  the  isle  of  France  from  8  to  10  for 
1 ;  and  in  the  lands  of  less  fertility  from  4  to  5  for 
one.f 
8  to  10  grains  for  1  in  Hungary,  Croatia,  and  Sola- 
Don?<z,  according  to  the  researches  of  M.  Swartner. 
12  grains  for  one  in  the  Reyno  de  la  Plata,  especially 
in  the  environs  of  Montevideo,  according  to  Don 


*  2,58tlb.  avo'ircl.  per  107,639  square  feet.    An  arfientx^  ra- 
ther more  than  a  ricmi-hectare.     Trans, 

t  PencfHt  atatistique,  p.  290. 


336  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  iv: 

Felix  Azara.  Near  the  city  of  Buenos  Ayres 
they  reckon  even  16.  In  Paraguay  the  cultivation 
ofcerealia  does  not  extend  larther  north  than  the 
parallel  of  24\* 
17  grains  for  1  in  the  northern  part  of  Mexico^  and 
at  the  same  distance  irom  the  equator  as  Para- 
guay and  Buenos  Ayres. 
94  grains  for  one  in  the  equinoxial  region  of  Mexico ^ 
at  two  or  three  thousand  metres  of  elevation  above 
the  level  of  the  ocean.  They  reckon  5.000  kilo- 
grammes per  hectare. t  In  the  province  of  Pasto 
of  the  kingdom  of  Santa  Fe,  through  which  I 
travelled  in  the  month  of  November,  1801,  the 
plains  of  la  Vega  de  San  Lorenzo,  Pansitara,  and 
Almaguer,!  commonly  produce  25,  in  very  fertile 
years  35,  and  in  cold  and  dry  years  12  for  1.  In 
Peru,  in  the  beautiful  plain  of  Caxamarca,^  v/ater- 
ed  by  the  rivers  Mascon  and  Utusco,  and  celebra- 
ted from  the  defeat  of  the  Inca  Atahualpa,  wheat 
yields  from  18  to  20  for  1. 

The  Mexican  flour  enters  into  competition  at  the 
Havannah  market  with  that  of  the  United  States. 
When  the  road  which  is  constructing  from  the  table- 
land of  Perote  to  Vera  Cruz  shall  be  completely 
finished,  the  grain  of  New  Spain  will  be  exported 
for  Bordeaux,  Hamburg,  and  Bremen.  The  Mexi- 
cans will  then  possess  a  double  advantage  6ver  the 
inhabitants  of  the  United  States,  that  of  a  greater 
fertility  of  territory,  and  that  of  a  lower  price  of  la- 
bour.    It  would  be  very  interesting  in  this  point  of 

*  Voyage  d'Azara,  t.  I.  p.  140. 

t  ll,035lb.  avoird. per  107,639  square  feet.     Tram. 

%  Lat.  I"  S-l'  north.  Absolute  height  2.300  metres,  (7,545 
feet.) 

§  Lai.  7"  8'norlii.  Alwolute  height  T.850  metres,  (9,382 
feet.) 


CHAP.  I  jr.]  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  337 

view,  could  we  compare  here  the  mean  produce  of  the 
different  provinces  of  the  American  confederation 
with  the  resuhs  which  we  have  obtained  for  Mexico. 
But  the  fertihty  of  the  soil  and  the  industry  of  the 
hihabitants  var\'  so  much  in  different  provinces,  that 
it  becomes  difficult  to  find  the  mean  term  which  cor- 
responds to  the  total  harvest.  What  a  difference 
between  the  excellent  cultivation  of  the  environs  of 
Lancaster  and  several  parts  of  New  England  and  that 
of  North  Carolina  !  "  An  English  farmer,"  says  the 
immortal  Washington  in  one  of  his  letters  to  Arthur 
Young,  "  ought  to  have  a  horrid  idea  of  the  state  of 
our  agriculture,  or  the  nature  of  our  soil,  when  he  is 
informed  that  an  acre  with  us  only  produces  eight  or 
ten  bushels.  But  it  must  be  kept  in  mind  that  in  all 
countries  where  land  is  cheap  and  labour  dear,  men 
are  fonder  of  cultivating  much  than  cultivating  well. 
Much  ground  has  been  scratched  over,  and  none 
cultivated  as  it  ought  to  have  been."*  According 
to  the  recent  researches  of  M.  Blodget,  which  may  be 
regarded  as  sufficiently  exact,  we  find  the  following 
results : 

*  This  interesting  letter  was  published  in  the  Statistical 
Manuel  for  the  United  States,  1806,  p.  96.  An  acre  contains 
5,368  square  metres.  A  bushel  of  wheat  weighs  30  kilo- 
grammes.    Author. 

The  sqi^are  of  a  metre  is  10.76397  feet,  consequently  5,368 
square  metres  =  57,780  square  feet;  but  an  acre  contains  only 
43,560  square  feet.      Trarrn, 


V«L.  II.  U   U 


338 


POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE 


In  the  Atlantic  provinces  to  the  east 
of  the  Alleghany  mountains. 

In  rich  lands     -         -         -         - 
In  common  lands    -         -         - 

In    the    western    territory   between 
the  Alleghany  and  the  Mississippi. 

In  rich  lands       -         .         ,         - 
In  common  lands     -         -  - 


Per  ac  re. 


Bushels. 

32 

9 


40 

25 


[book    IV, 
Per  hectare.*! 


Kilogrammes. 
1,788 
503 


2,235 
1,397 


We  see  from  these  data,  that  in  the  Mexican  in- 
tendancies  of  Puebla  and  Guanaxuato,  where  on  the 
ridge  of  the  Cordillera  the  climate  of  Rome  and 
Naples  prevails,  the  territory  is  more  rich  and  pro^ 
ductive  than  the  most  fertile  parts  of  the  United  States. f 

As  since  the  death  of  General  Washington  the 
progress  of  agriculture  has  been  very  considerable 
in  the  western  territory,  especially  in  Kentucky, 
Tennessee,  and  Louisiana,  I  believe  we  may  consider 
from  13  to  14  bushels  as  the  mean  term  of  the  annual 
produce,  which,  however,  only  amounts  to  700  kilo- 
grammes|  per  hectare,  or  less  than  4  for  1.  In  En- 
gland the  wheat  harvest  is  generally  estimated  at  from 
19  to  20  bushels  per  acre,  which  gives  1,100  kilo- 
grammes per  hectare.^  This  comparison,  we  have 
to  repeat,  does  not  announce  a  greater  fertility  of  the 


•  According  to  the  proportion  laid  down  by  the  author  in 
the  preceding  note  for  converting  bushels  into  kilogrammes, 
which  is  1  :  30,  and  taking  the  acre  at  43,560  square  feet,  and 
the  hectare  at  107,639  square  feet,  we  shall  find  the  numbers 
in  this  column  2,372,  667,  2,965,  and  1,853  kilogrammes 
Trans. 

t  The  comparative  fertility,  taking  the  highest  of  the  Ame- 
rican produce,  is  5,000  :  2,965.      Trans. 

\  13  bushels  amount  to  963  and  14  to  1,037  kilogrammes. 
Mean,  1,000.      Trans. 

§  19  bushels  =  1,408,  and  20  =  1,482.  Mean,  1,445.  Tram 


CHAP.  IX.]  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  339 

soil  of  Great  Britain.  Far  from  giving  us  a  horrid 
idea  of  tlie  sterility  of  the  Atlantic  provinces  of  the 
United  States,  it  proves  only  that  whenever  the  colo- . 
nist  is  master  of  a  vast  extent  of  ground,  the  art  of 
cultivating  the  soil  comes  extremely  slow  to  perfec- 
tion. The  memoirs  of  the  Agricultural  Society  of 
Philadelphia  furnish  us  with  diftbrent  examples  of 
harvests  exceeding  38  and  40  bushels  per  acre,  when- 
ever the  fields  have  been  laboured  in  Philadelphia 
with  tlie  same  care  as  in  Ireland  and  Flanders. 

After  comparing  the  mean  produce  of  the  lands  in 
Mexico  and  Buenos  Ayres  with  those  in  the  United 
States  and  France,  let  us  bestow  a  rapid  glance  at 
the  price  of  labour  in  these  different  countries.  In 
Mexico  it  amounts  to  two  reales  de  plata,*  (50  sols,) 
per  day  in  the  cold  regions,  and  to  two  reals  and  a 
halff  (3  livres  2  sols)  per  day  in  the  warm  regions, 
where  there  is  a  want  of  hands,  and  where  the  inha- 
bitants in  general  are  very  laz3\  This  price  of  la- 
bour ought  to  appear  moderate  enough  when  we 
consider  the  metallic  wealth  of  the  country,  and  the 
quantity  of  money  constantly  in  circulation.  In  the 
United  States,  where  the  whites  have  pushed  the  In- 
dian population  beyond  the  Ohio  and  the  Mississippi, 
the  price  of  labour  varies  from  3  livres  10  sols,  to  4 
francs.  J  In  France  we  may  estimate  it  at  from  30 
to  40  sols,^  and  in  Bengal,  according  to  M.  Titzing, 
at  6  sols.  II      Hence,  notwithstanding  the  enormous 

*  See  note,  p.  108.  where  the  author  estimates  the  double 
piastre,  or  pezzo  fuerte,  at  8  reales  do  plata.  The  piastre 
being  5  livres  5  sous;  the  real  is  only  13  sous;  consequently 
2  reals  =  26  sous  =  Is.  \d.      Trans. 

t  Two  reals  and  a  half  =  1  livre  12  sols  6  den.=  \s.  4  ]-2f/. 
Tra7is. 

\  From  25.  Wcl.  to  3«.  Ad.     Trans. 

§  From  \s.  3rf.  to  1*.  2d.      Trans.  ji  3r/.      Trayis. 


340  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [«ook  iv. 

difFerence  of  freight,  the  East- India  sugar  is  cheaper 
at  Philadelphia  than  that  of  Jamaica.  From  these 
data  it  follows,  that  the  present  price  of  labour  in 
Mexico  is  to  the  price  of  labour 

in  France  =  10  :  6. 

in  the  United  States     =  10  :   13. 
in  Bengal  :«=  10  :   I.* 

The  mean  price  of  wheat  is  in  New  Spain  from 
four  to  five  piastres,  or  from  20  to  25  francs  the  car- 
ga^  which  weighs  150  kilogrammes. f  This  is  the 
price  at  which  it  is  purchased  in  the  country,  even 
from  the  farmers.  At  Paris,  for  several  years,  150 
kilogrammes  of  wheat  cost  30  francs.  In  the  city 
of  Mexico  the  high  price  of  carriage  adds  so  much 
to  the  price  of  the  grain,  that  it  generally  sells  there 
at  9  and  10  piastres  the  carga.X  The  extremes,  at 
the  periods  of  the  greatest  or  least  fertility,  arc  8  and 
14  piastres.  It  is  easy  to  foresee  that  the  price  of 
Mexican  grain  will  suffer  a  considerable  fall  when  the 
roads  shall  be  constructed  on  the  declivity  of  the  Cor- 
dilleras, and  the  progress  of  agriculture  shall  be  fa- 
voured by  greater  commercial  freedom. 

The  Mexican  wheat  is  of  the  very  best  quality ; 
and  it  may  be  compared  with  the  finest  Andalusian 
grain.  It  is  superior  to  that  of  Monte  Video,  which, 
according  to  M.  Azara,  has  the  grain  smaller  by  one 
half  than  the  Spanish  grain.  In  Mexico  the  grain 
is  very  large,  very  white,  and  very  nutritive,  especially 
in  farms  where  watering  is  employed.     It  is  observed 

*  The  reader  will  observe  that  these  .proportions  are  erro- 
neous. Takins^  Mexico  as  10,  France  will  be  12,  the  United 
States  26,  and  Bengal  2.      Trans. 

t  From   \7s.  6d.  to  2 Is.  \0d.  per  3311b.  avoird.     Trans. 

:fThat  is  to  say  from  1/.  17».  6d.  to  21.  3a.  4d.  per  3311b. 
avoird.     Trans. 


cuAP.  IX.}         KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPATES.  341 

that  the  wheat  of  the  mountains,  {trigo  de  Sierra^) 
tliat  is  to  say,  that  whicli  grows  at  very  great  eleva- 
tions on  the  ridge  of  the  Cordillera,  has  its  grain 
covered  with  a  thicker  husk,  while  the  grain  of  the 
temperate  regions  abounds  in  glutinous  matter.  The 
qiiality  of  the  flour  depends  principally  on  the  pro- 
ponion  which  exists  between  the  gluten  and  starch 
and  it  appears  natural  that,  under  a  climate  favoura- 
ble to  the  vegetation  of  gramina,  the  embryo  and  the 
cellular  reticulation*  of  the  albumen  should  become 
more  voluminous. 

In  Mexico  grain  is  with  difficulty  preserved  for 
more  than  two  or  three  years,  especially  in  the  tem- 
perate climates,  and  the  causes  of  this  phenomenon 
have  never  been  sufficiently  attended  to.  It  would  be 
advisable  to  establish  magazines  in  the  coldest  parts 
of  the  country.  We  find,  however,  a  prejudice 
spread  through  several  parts  of  Spanish  America, 
that  the  flour  of  the  Cordillera  does  not  preserve  so 
long  as  the  flour  of  the  United  States.  The  cause  of 
this  prejudice,  which  has  been  of  particular  detri- 
ment to  the  agriculture  of  New  Granada,  is  easily  to 
be  discovered.  The  merchants  wh©  inhabit  the  coasts 
opposite  to  the  West  Indies,  and  who  find  them- 
selves constrained  by  commercial  prohibitions,  par- 
ticularly the  merchants  of  Carthagena  for  examjile, 
have  the  greatest  interest  in  maintaining  a  connection 
with  the  United  States.  The  custom-house  officers 
are  sometimes  indulgent  enough  to  take  a  Jamaica 
vessel  for  a  vessel  of  the  United  States. 

Rye,  and  especially  barley,  resist  cold  better  than 
wheat.  They  are  cultivated  on  the  highest  regions. 
Barley  yields  abundant  harvests  at  heights  where  the 
thermometer  rarely  keeps  up  during  the  day  beyond 


*  Mirbel  sur  la   germination   des  graminees.     Annates  du 
Mtiseum  d'Hist.  A''at.  vol.  xiii.  p.  147, 


342  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  iv. 

14  degrees.*  In  New  California,  taking  the  term  of 
the  harvests  of  13  villages,  the  barley  produced  in 
1791,  24,  and  in  1802,  18  for  1. 

Oats  are  very  little  cultivated  in  Mexico.  They 
are  even  very  seldom  seen  in  Spain,  where  the  horses 
are  fed  on  barley,  as  in  the  times  of  the  Greeks  and 
Romans.  The  rye  and  barley  are  seldom  attacked 
by  a  disease  called  by  the  Mexicans  cliaquistle^  which 
frequently  desti-oys  the  finest  wheat  harvests  when 
the  spring  and  the  beginning  of  the  summer  have 
been  very  warm,  and  when  storms  are  frequent.  It 
is  generally  believed  that  this  disease  is  occasioned 
by  small  insects,  v/hich  fill  the  interior  of  the  stalk, 
and  hinder  the  nutritive  juice  from  mounting  up  to 
the  ear. 

A  plant  of  a  nutritive  root,  which  belongs  ori- 
ginally to  America,  the  potato^  {solanum  tuberosum^) 
appears  to  have  been  introduced  into  Mexico  nearly 
at  the  same  period  as  the  cerealia  of  the  old  continent. 
I  shall  not  take  upon  me  to  decide  whether  the  papas 
(the  old  Peruvian  name  by  which  potatoes  are  now 
known  in  all  the  Spanish  colonies)  came  to  Mexico 
along  with  the  schinus  molle|  of  Peru,  and  conse- 
quently by  the  South  Sea  ;  or  whether  the  first  con- 
querors brought  them  from  the  mountains  of  New 
Granada.  However  this  may  be,  it  is  certain  that 
they  were  not  known  in  the  time  of  Montezuma ; 
and  this  fact  is  the  more  important,  because  it  is  one 
of  those  in  v/hich  the  history  of  the  mi_i;Tations  of  a 
plant  is  connected  with  the  history  of  thiC  migrations 
of  nations. 

The  predilections  manifested  by  cericiln  tribes  for 
the  cultivation  of  certain  plants,  indi'jates  most  fre- 
quently cither  an  identity  of  race,  or  ancient  com- 

*  5'ro  of  Falii-CiiUcit.      Trans. 
t  Hcrnandcii,  lib.  iii.  c.  1j.  p    'A. 
5 


CHAP.  IX.]  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  343 

munications  between  men'  who  live  under  different 
climates.  In  this  view  the  vet;eti\bies,  like  the  lan- 
guages and  physiognomy  of  nations,  may  become 
historical  monumenls.  Not  merely  pastoral  tribes, 
or  those  who  live  solely  on  the  criase,  undertake  long 
voyages,  instigated  by  an  unquiet  and  warlike  spirit ; 
the  hordes  oi  Germanic  origin,  the  swarm  of  people 
who  transported  themselves  from  the  interior  olWsia 
to  the  banks  of  the  Borysthenes  and  the  Danube,  and 
the  savages  of  Guayana,  afford  numerous  examples 
of  tribes,  who,  fixing  themselves  for  a  few  years, 
cultivate  small  pieces  of  ground,  on  which  they  sow 
the  grain  reaped  by  them  elsewhere,  and  abandon 
these  imperfect  cultivations  when  a  bad  year,  or  any 
other  accident,  disgusts  them  with  the  situation.  It 
is  thus  that  the  people  of  the  JNlongol  race  have  trans- 
ported themselves  from  the  wall  which  separates 
China  from  Tartary  to  the  \  ery  centre  of  Europe  ; 
and  it  is  thus  that,  from  the  north  of  California  and 
the  banks  of  the  Rio  Gila,  the  American  tribes  pour- 
ed even  into  the  southern  hemisphere.  We  every- 
where see  torrents  of  wanderinfj:  and  warlike  hordes 
pave  a  way  for  themselves  through  the  midst  of  peace- 
able and  agricultural  nations.  Immoveable  as  the 
shore,  the  latter  collect  and  carefully  preserve  the  nu- 
tritive plants  and  domestic  animals  which  accompa- 
nied the  wandering  tribes  in  these  distant  courses. 
Frequently  the  cultivation  of  a  small  number  of  ve> 
getables,  as  well  as  the  foreign  v/ords  mingled  with 
languages  of  a  different  origin,  serve  to  point  out  the 
route  by  v.-hich  a  nation  has  passed  from  one  extre- 
mity of  the  continent  to  the  other. 

These  considerations,  which  I  have  more  fully  de- 
veloped in  my  Essay  on  the  Geography  of  Plants,  are 
sufficient  to  prove  how  important  it  is  for  the  history 
of  our  species  to  know  with  precision  how  far  the 
primitive  dominioTi  of  certain  vegetables  extended 
before  the  spirit  of  colonization  among  the  KuroiJcaiis 


344  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  iv. 

collected  together  the  productions  of  the  most  dis- 
tant climates.  If  the  cerealia,  if  the  rice*  of  the 
East  Indies,  were  unknown  to  the  first  inhabitants  of 
America,  on  the  other  hand,  maize,  the  potato, 
and  the  quinoa,  were  neither  cultivated  in  Eastern 
Asia,  nor  in  the  islands  of  the  South  Sea.  Maize 
was  introduced  into  Japan  by  the  Chinese,  who,  ac- 
cording to  the  assertion  of  some  authors,  ought  to 
have  known  it  from  the  remotest  period.f  This  as- 
sertion, if  it  was  founded,  would  throw  light  on  the 
ancient  communication  supposed  to  have  taken  place 
between  the  inhabitants  of  the  two  continents.  But 
where  are  the  monuments  which  attest  that  maize 
was  cultivated  in  Asia  before  the  sixteenth  century  ? 
According  to  the  learned  researches  of  Father  Gau- 
biljj  it  appears  even  doubtful  whether,  a  thousand 
years  before  that  period,  the  Chinese  ever  visited  the 
western  coast  of  America,  as  was  advanced  by  a  just- 
ly celebrated  historian,  M.  de  Guignes.  We  persist 
in  believing  that  the  maize  was  not  transported  from 
the  table-land  of  Tartary  to  that  of  Mexico,  and  that 
it  is  equally  improbable  that,  before  the  discovery  of 
America  by  the  Europeans,  this  precious  gramen 
was  transported  from  the  new  continent  into  Asia. 

The  potato  presents  us  with  another  very  curious 
problem,  when  we  consider  it  in  an  historical  point  of 
view.     It  appears  certain,  as  we  have  already  ad- 

*What  is  the  wild  rice  of  which  Mackenzie  speaks,  a 
gramen  which  does  not  ^row  beyond  the  50o  of  latitude,  and 
on  which  the  natives  of  Canada  feed  during  winter  ?  Foyagc 
de  Mackenzie^  i.  p.  156. 

t  T/mnberg,  Flora  Jajionica,  p,  57.  The  maize  is  called 
in  Japanese  Sjo  KusOy  and  Too  hbbi.  '  The  word  kuso  indi- 
cates a  herbaceous  plant,  and  the  word  too  announces  an 
exotic  production. 

\  Astronomical  MS.  of  the  Jesuits  preserved  in  the  Bureau 

>ft\s  Lonf(irurU>i  at  Pari's. 


CHAP.  IX.]  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  345 

vanced,  that  this  plant,  of  which  the  cuhivation  has 
had  the  greatest  influence  on  the  progress  of  popula- 
tion in  Europe,  was  not  known  in  Mexico  before  the 
annval  of  the  Spaniards.  It  was  cultivated  at  this 
epoqua  in  Chili,  Peru,  Quito,  in  the  kingdom  of 
New  Granada,  on  all  the  Cordillera  of  the  Andes, 
from  the  40"  of  south  latitude  to  the  50°  of  north 
latitude.  It  is  supposed  by  botanists  that  it  grows 
spontaneously  in  the  mountainous  part  of  Peru.  On 
tlie  other  hand,  the  learned  who  have  inquired  into 
the  introduction  of  potatoes  into  Europe,  afiirm  that 
tlie  potato  was  found  in  V^irginia  by  the  iirst  settlers 
sent  there  by  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  in  1584.  Now 
how  can  we  conceive  that  a  plant,  said  to  belong  ori- 
ginally to  the  southern  hemisphere,  was  found  under 
cultivation  at  the  foot  of  the  Alleghany  mountains, 
while  it  was  unknown  in  Mexico  and  the  mountain- 
cats  and  temperate  regions  of  the  West  Indies  ?  Is 
it  probable  that  Peruvian  tribes  may  have  penetrated 
northwards  to  the  banks  of  the  Rapahannoc,  in  Vir- 
ginia ;  or  have  potatoes  first  come  from  north  to 
south,  like  the  nations  who,  from  the  7th  century, 
have  successively  appeared  on  the  table-land  of  Ana- 
buac  ?  In  either  of  these  hypotheses,  how  came  this 
cultivation  not  to  be  introduced  or  preserved  in  Mexi- 
co ?  These  are  questions  which  have  hitherto  beea 
very  little  agitated,  but  which,  nevertheless,  deserve 
to  fix  the  attention  of  the  naturalist,  who,  in  em- 
bracing at  one  view  the  influence  of  man  on  nature, 
and  the  reaction  of  the  physical  world  on  man,  ap- 
pears to  read  in  the  distribution  of  the  vegetables  the 
history  of  the  first  migrations  of  our  species. 

I  have  first  to  observe,  stating  here  only  what  facts 
are  to  be  relied  on,  that  the  potato  is  not  indigenous 
in  Peru,  and  that  it  is  nowhere  to  be  found  wild  in 
the  part  of  the  Cordilleras  situated  under  the  tropics. 
M.  Bonpland  and  myself  herborized  on  the  back  and 
on  the  declivity  of  the  Andes  from  the  5*^  north  to  the 

VOL.  ir.  X  X 


346  J'OLlTiCALliSSAV  ON  THE  [book  iv. 

12°  south  ;  we  informed  ourselves  from  persons  who 
have  examined  thi;  chain  of  colossal  mountains  as 
far  as  la  Paz  and  Oruro,  and  we  are  certain  that  iu 
this  vast  extent  of  ground  no  species  of  solanura 
with  nutritive  root  vegetates  spontaneously.  It  is 
true  that  there  are  places  not  very  accessible,  and 
very  cold,  which  the  natives  call  Paramos  de  his 
Papas,  (desert  potato-plains;)  but  these  denomina- 
tions, of  whi'  h  it  is  difficult  to  conjecture  the  origin, 
by  no  means  indicate  that  these  great  elevations  pro- 
duce the  plant  of  v/hich  they  bear  the  name. 

Passing  further  soutlivvards,  beyond  the  tropic,  we 
find  it,  according  to  Molina,*  in  all  the  fields  of  Chili. 
The  natives  distinguish  the  wild  potato,  of  which 
the  tubercles  are  small  and  somewhat  bitter,  from 
that  which  has  been  cultivated  for  a  long  series  of 
ages.  The  first  of  these  plants  bears  the  name  of 
maglia,  and  the  second  that  of  pogny.  Another  spe- 
cies of  solanum  is  also  cultivated  in  Chili,  which 
belongs  to  the  same  group,  with  pennated  and  not 
prickly  leaves,  and  which  has  a  very  swttt  root  of  a 
cylindrical  form.  This  is  the  solanum  cari,  which  is 
still  unknown,  not  only  in  Europe,  but  also  in  Quit© 
and  Mexico. 

We  might  ask  if  these  useful  plants  are  truly  na- 
tives of  Chili,  or  if,  from  the  eifect  of  a  long  culti- 
vation, they  have  become  wild  there.  The  same 
tiuestion  has  been  put  to  the  travellers  who  have 
found  cerealia  growing  spontaneously  in  the  moun- 
tains of  India  and  Caucasus.  MM.  Ruiz  and  Pa- 
von,  whose  authority  is  of  so  great  weight,  affirm 
that  they  found  the  potato  in  cultivated  grounds,  w 
ridtis,  and  not  in  forests,  ami  on  the  ridges  of  the 
mountains.  But  we  are  to  observe,  that  among  us 
the  solanum  and  the  different  kinds  of  grain  do  not 

*  His:.  .Yar.  dtt  Chilis  p.  1G2, 


CHAP.  IX.]  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SJ^AIN.  347 

propagate  of  themselves  in  a  clumble  manner,  when 
tlic  birds  transport  the  grains  into  nieadcnvs  and 
woods.  Wherever  these  plants  appear  to  become 
wiid  iindtT  our  eyes,  far  from  multiplying  like  the 
crigeron  Canadense,  the  oenotiK  ra  biennis,  and  other 
colonists  of  the  vegetable  kingdom,  they  disappear 
in  a  very  short  space  of  time.  Are  r.ot  the  maglia  of 
Chili,  the  grain  of  the  banks  of  the  Terek,*  and  the 
^vheat  of  the  mountains  [hill  xoJieat)  ol  Boutan,  which 
M.  Banksf  has  recently  made  know  n,  more  likely  to 
be  the  primitive  type  of  the  solanum  and  cultivated 
cerealia '? 

It  is  probable  that  from  the  mountains  of  Chili  the 
cultivation  of  potatoes  gradually  advanced  northwards 
by  Peru  and  the  kingdo^n  of  Quito  to  the  table-land 
of  Bogota,  the  ancient  Cundinamarca.  This  is  also 
the  course  followed  by  the  Incas  in  their  concjuests. 
We  can  easily  conceive  why,  long  befoie  tliC  arrival 
of  Manco  Capac,  in  those  remote  times  when  the 
province  of  Collao  and  the  plains  of  Tiahuanacu  were 
the  centre  of  the  first  civilization  of  mankind, J  the 
migrations  of  tlie  South  American  nations  would  rather 
be  from  south  to  north  than  in  an  opposite  direction. 
Everywhere  in  the  tvA'o  hemispheres  the  people  of  the 
mountains  have  manifested  a  desire  to  approach  the 
equator,  or,  at  least,  the  torrid  zone,  which,  at  great 
elevations,  affords  the  mildness  of  climate  and  the 
other  advantages  of  the  temperate  zone.  Following 
the  direction  of  the  Cordilleras,  either  from  the 
banks  of  the  Gila  to  the  centre  of  Mexico,  or  from 
Chili  to  the  beautiful  valleys  uf  Quito,  the  natives 
in  a  cold  and  foggy  climate.    The  Indian  of  the  warm 

*  Marschall  de  Biberstcin,  sur  les  bords  occid.  de  la  itur  Cqa^ 
pienne,  1798,  p.  65  and  105. 

t  BibLBritt.  1809,  n.  322.  p.  86. 

\  Pedro  Cieca  de  Leon,  c.  105.  Gr-.rcib.'sso,  ili.  \. 


548  POLITICAL  ESSAY  On  THE  [bock  iv. 

found  in  the  same  elevations,  and  without  descending 
towards  the  plains,  a  more  vigorous  vegetation,  less 
premature  frosts,  and  less  abundance  of  snow.  The 
plains  of  Tiahuanacu,  (iat.  17*^  10'  south,)  covered 
wiih  ruins  of  an  august  grandeur,  and  the  banks  of 
the  lake  of  Chucuito,  a  basin  which  resembles  a  small 
interior  sea,  are  the  Himala  and  Thibet  of  South 
America.  These  men  under  the  government  of  laws, 
and  collected  together  on  a  soil  of  no  great  fertility, 
first  applied  themselves  to  agriculture.  From  this 
remarkable  plain,  situated  between  the  cities  of 
Cuzco  and  la  Paz,  descended  numerous  and  powerful 
tribes,  vAio  carried  their  arms,  language,  and  arts 
even  to  the  northern  hemisphere. 

'J'he  vegetables,  which  were  the  object  of  the  agri- 
culture of  the  Andes,  must  have  been  carried  north- 
wards in  two  wa3^s;  either  by  the  conquests  of  the 
Incas,  who  were  followed  by  the  establishment  of 
Peruvian  colonies  in  the  conquered  countries,  or  by 
the  slow  but  peaceable  communications  which  always 
take  place  between  neighbouring  nations.  The 
sovereigns  of  Cuzco  did  not  extend  their  conquests 
beyond  the  river  of  Mayo,  (kit.  P  34'  north,)  of  which 
the  course  is  north  from  the  town  of  Pasto.  The 
potatoes  which  the  Spaniards  found  under  cultivation 
among  the  Muysca  tribes  in  the  kingdom  of  the 
z.tque  of  Bogota,  (Iat.  4"  6'  north,)  could  only  have 
been  transported  there  from  Peru  by  means  of  the 
relations  which  are  gradually  established  even  among 
mountainous  tribes  separated  from  one  another  by 
deserts  covered  with  snow,  or  impassable  valleys. 
The  Cordilleras,  which  preserve  a  formidable  height 
from  Chili  to  the  province  of  Antioquia,  fall  sudden- 
ly  near  the  sources  of  the  great  Rio  Atracto.  Choco 
ar:d  Darien  present  merely  a  group  of  hills  which, 
in  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  are  only  a  few  hundred 
toises  in  height.  The  cultivation  of  the  potato  suc- 
ceeds well  in  the  tropics  only  on  very  elevated  grounds 
regions  gives  the  preference  to  maize,  the  manioc.. 


CHAP.  IK.]  KINGDOM  OF  KEW  Pl'AlN.  34^ 

and  banana.  Besides  Choco,  Dr.ricn,  and  llie  isth- 
nius,  covered  willi  thick  forests,  liave  always  been 
inhaljitcd  by  hordes  oi'  savages  and  hunters,  enemies 
to  eveiT  sort  of  cnltivation.  Wc  are  net,  tlierefore, 
to  be  astonislied  that  both  pliysical  and  moral  causes 
Jiave  prevented  tlie  potato  iVoni  penetrating  into 
Mexico. 

We  know  not  a  single  fact  by  which  the  history 
of  South  America  is  connected  witli  that  of  North 
America.  In  New  Spain,  as  we  have  already  several 
times  observed,  the  flux  of  nations  was  from*  north 
to  south.  A  great  analogy  of  man neis  and  civiliza- 
tion has  been  thought  to  be  perceived*  between  the 
Toultecs,  driven  by  a  pestilence  from  the  table-land 
of  Anahuac  in  the  middle  of  the  12th  century,  and 
the  Peruvians  under  the  government  of  jManco 
Capac.  It  might,  no  doubt,  have  happened,  that 
people  from  Aztlan  advanced  beyond  the  i.sthmusor 
gulf  of  Panama ;  but  it  is  very  improbable  that  by 
migrations  from  south  to  north  the  productions  of 
Peru,  Quito,  and  New  Granada,  ever  passed  to 
Mexico  and  Canada. 

From  all  these  considerations  it  follows  that  if 
die  colonists  sent  out  by  Raleigh  really  found  pota- 
toes among  the  Indians  of  Virginia,  we  can  hardly 
refuse  our  assent  to  the  idea  that  this  plant  was  ori- 
ginally wild  in  some  country  of  the  northern  hemis- 
phere, as  it  was  in  Chili.  The  interesting  researches 
carried  on  by  MM.  Beckman,  Banks,  and  Dryander,f 

*  I  have  discussed  this  curious  hypothesis  of  the  Chevalier 

Bnturini  in  my  Memoir  on  the  first  inhabitants  of  America, 
'^Ueber  die  Urvbker,)  jYt'iie  Berlin  Monatschrcft^  1806,  p.  205. 

t  Beckmanns  Grundsdtze  der  Teutschen  Landrjirtfischaft, 
1  805,  p.  289.  Sir  Josefih  Banks's  attemfit  to  ascertain  the  time 
of  the  introduction  of  fiotatocs.,  18u8.  The  potato  has  been 
cultivated  on  a  large  scale  in  Lancashire  since  1684  ;  in 
Saxony  since  1717;  in  Scotland  since  1728;  and  in  Prussia 
since  1738.     jiiithor. 

It  is  believed  that  potatoes  have  only  been  cultivated  ex- 


350  rOLITlCAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [nooK  iv.. 

prove  tliat  vessels  wUich  returned  from  the  bay  of 
Albemarle  in  1586  first  carried  potatoes  into  Ireland, 
and  tliat  Thomas  Harriot,  more  celebrate  d  as  a  ma- 
thematician than  as  a  navigator,  described  thi^  nutri- 
tive root  by  the  name  of  openawk.  Gerard,  in  his 
Herbal.,  published  in  1597,  calls  it  Virginian  patatate, 
or  noremhega.  We  might  be  tempted  to  believe 
that  the  English  colonists  received  it  from  Spanish 
America.  Their  establishment  had  been  in  exist- 
ence from  the  month  of  Julv,  1584.  The  naviG:ators 
of  those  times  were  not  in  the  liabit  of  steering 
straight  westv/ardsto  reach  the  coast  of  North  Ameri- 
ca ;  they  were  still  in  the  practice  of  following  the 
tract  indicated  by  Columbus,  and  profiting  by 
the  trade  winds  of  the  torrid  zone.  This  passage 
facilitated  communication  with  the  West-India  islands, 
which  were  the  centre  of  the  Spanish  commerce. 
Sir  Francis  Drake,  who  had  been  navigating  among 
these  islands,  and  along  the  coast  of  Terra  Firma, 
put  in  at  Roanoke,*  in  Virginia.  It  appears  then 
natural  enough  to  suppose,  that  the  English  them- 
selves brought  potatoes  from  South  America  or  from 
Mexico  into  Virginia.  At  the  time  when  they  were 
brought  from  Virginia  into  P^ngland  they  were  com- 
mon both  in  Spain  and  Italy.  Wc  are  not  then  to 
be  astonished  that  a  production  v/hich  had  past  from 
one  continent  to  the  other  could  in  America  pass 
from  the  Spanish  to  the  English  colonies.  The  very 
name  by  which  Harriot  describes  the  potato  seems 


tensively  in  Scotland  since  a  much  later  period  than  1728. 
The  opinion  generally  received  there  is,  that  the  cultiva- 
tion began  with  the  rebellion  in   174S.     Trans. 

*  Roanoke  and  Albemarle,  where  Armidas  and  Barlow 
made  their  first  eslablishmeiit,  now  belong  to  the  state  of  North 
Carolina.  As  to  the  colony,of  Raleigh,  consult  MarshaWs  Life 
af  Washi7igtonf  vol.  i.  p.  12. 


CHAP.  12.3  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  35^ 

to  prove  its  Virginian  origin.  Were  the  savages  to 
have  a  word  lor  a  toreip,n  plant,  and  would  not  Har- 
riot have  knov.n  the  uixme papa  ? 

The  plants  which  are  cultivated  in  the  highest  and 
coldest  piirt'  of  the  Andes  and  Mexican  Cordilleras 
are  the  potato,  the  tropacolum  esculeiitum,*  and 
the  chcnopodium  quinoa,  of  which  the  grain  is  an 
aliment  equally  agreeable  and  hc-althy.  In  New 
Spain  the  tirst  oi  these  becomes  an  object  of  culti- 
vation, of  so  much  greater  importance  from  its  ex- 
tent, as  it  does  not  require  any  great  humidity  of  soil. 
The  Mexicans,  like  the  Peruvians,  can  preserve  po- 
tatoes for  whole  years  by  exposing  them  to  the  frost 
and  drjing  them  in  the  sun.  The  root,  when  hard- 
ened and  deprived  of  its  water,  is  called  chwiu, 
from  a  word  of  the  Quichua  language.  It  would  be 
undoubtedly  very  useful  to  iinitate  this  prepara- 
tion in  Europe,  Adhere  a  commencement  of  germina- 
tion frequently  desU'oys  the  winter's  provisions ;  but- 
it  would  be  still  of  greater  importance  to  procure  the 
grain  of  the  potatoes  cultivated  at  Quito  and  on  the 
plain  of  Santa  Fe.  I  have  seen  them  of  a  spherical 
form  of  more  than  three  decimetres  j-  (from  twelve 
to  thirteen  inches)  in  diameter,  and  of  a  much  better 
taste  than  any  in  our  continent.  We  know  that  cer- 
tain herbaceous  plants  which  have  been  long  multi- 
plied from  the  roots  degenerate  in  the  end,  especially 
when  the  bad  custom  is  followed  of  cutting  the  roots 
into  stveral  pieces.  It  has  l^ecn  proved  by  expe- 
rience in  several  parts  of  Germany,  that,  of  all  the  po- 
tatoes, those  which  grow  from  the  seed  are  the  most 

*This  new  species  of  nasturtium,  akin  to  the  tropaeolun:i 
peregrinuni,  is  cuUivatecl  in  the  provinces  of  Popayan  and 
Pasto  on  table-lands  of  three  thousand  metres  of  ubso- 
lute  elevation.  It  will  be  described  in  a  work  to  I)e  published 
by  M.  Bonpland  and  myself,  under  the  title  oi  J\'ova  genera  e: 
s/iecies  filantaruni  eqidnoctiaiiujit. 

t  3  Decin-iCtres  =  ll.S  iuchrs. 


352  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  iv. 

savoury.  We  may  ameliorate  the  species  by  col- 
lecting the  seed  in  its  native  country,  and  by  choosing 
on  the  Cordillera  of  the  Andes  the  varieties  which 
are  most  recommendable  from  their  volume  and  the 
savour  of  their  roots.  We  have  long  possessed  in 
Europe  a  potato  which  is  known  by  agricultural 
writers  under  the  name  of  red  potato  of  Bedford- 
shire, and  of  which  the  tubercles  weigh  more  than 
a  kilogramme  ;*  but  this  variety  [conglomerated  po- 
tato) is  of  an  insipid  taste,  and  can  almost  be  apj^lied 
only  to  feed  cattle,  while  the  popa  de  bogota,  which 
contains  less  water,  is  very  farinaceous,  contains  very 
little  sugar,  and  is  of  an  extremely  agreeable  taste. 

Amongst  the  great  number  of  useful  productions 
which  the  migrations  of  nations  and  distant  naviga- 
tions have  made  known,  no  plant  since  the  discovery 
of  cerealia,  that  is  to  .say,  from  time  immemorial,  has 
had  so  decided  an  influence  on  the  prosperity  of  man- 
kind as  the  potato.  This  root,  according  to  the 
calculations  of  Sir  John  Sinclair,  can  maintain  nine 
individuals  per  acre  of  5,368  square  metres.f  It  has 
become  common  in  New  Zealand,  J  in  Japan,  in  the 
island  of  Java,  in  the  Boutan,  and  in  Bengal,  where, 
according  to  the  testimony  of  M.  Bockford,  potatoes 
are  considered  as  more  useful  than  the  bread-fruit 
tree  introduced  at  Madras.  Their  cultivation  ex- 
tends from  the  extremity  of  Africa  to  Labrador,  Ice- 
land, and  Lapland.  It  is  a  very  interesting  spectacle 
to  see  a  plant  descended  from  the  mountains  under 

*2  2-lOlb.  avoii'd.     Trans. 

t  It  has  been  already  observed  that  5,368  square  metres  == 
57,780  square  feet,  and  that  an  acre  =  43,560  square  feet.  The 
Scotch  acre,  which  is  probably  the  onfc  here  used  by  Sir  John 
Sinclair,  is  to  the  English  as  10,000  :  7,869,  and  contains 
55,356  square  feet. 

:^John  Savage's  Account  of  New  Zealand,  1307,  p.  IS. 
Tians. 


CHAP.  IX.]  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  353 

the  equator  advance  towards  the  pole,  and  resist  bet- 
ter than  the  cereal  gramina  all  the  colds  of  the  nortli. 

We  have  successively  examined  the  \'cgetable 
productions  which  are  the  basis  of  the  food  of  the 
Mexican  population,  the  bcmana.,  the  manioc^  the 
maize,  and  the  cerea/la  ;  and  we  have  endeavoured  to 
throw  some  interest  into  this  subject  by  comparing 
the  agriculture  of  the  cquinoxial  regions  uiththatof 
the  temperate  climate  of  Europe,  and  by  connecting 
the  history  of  the  migration  of  the  vegetables  with 
the  events  which  have  brought  the  human  race  from 
one  part  of  the  globe  to  the  other.  Without  enter- 
ing into  botanical  details,  which  would  be  foreign  to 
the  principal  aim  of  this  work,  we  shall  terminate 
this  chapter  by  a  succinct  indication  of  the  other  ali- 
mentary plants  which  are  cultivated  in  Mexico. 

A  great  numberof  these  plants  has  been  introduced 
since  the  16th  century.  The  inhabitants  of  western 
Europe  have  deposited  in  America  what  they  had 
been  receiving  for  two  thousand  years  by  their  com- 
munications with  the  Greeks  mid  Romans,'  by  the  ir- 
ruption of  the  hordes  of  central  Asia,  by  the  con- 
quests of  the  Arabs,  by  the  crusades,  and  by  the  na- 
vigations of  the  Portuguese.  All  these  vegetable 
treasures  accumulated  in  an  extremity  of  the  old 
continent  by  the  continual  flux  of  nations  towards 
tlie  west,  and  preserved  under  the  happy  influence  of 
a  perpetualh'  increasing  civilization,  have  become  al- 
most at  once  the  inheritance  of  Mexico  and  Peru. 
We  see  them  afterwards  augmented  by  the  produc- 
tions  of  America,  pass  farther  still  to  the  islands  of 
the  South  Sea,  and  to  the  establishments  which  a 
powerful  nation  has  formed  on  die  coast  of  New  Hol- 
land. In  this  v/ay  the  smallest  corner  of  the  earth, 
if  it  become  the  domain  of  European  colonists,  and 
especially  if  it  abounds  with  a  great  variety  of  cli- 
mates, attests  the  activity  which  our  species  has  been 
for  centuries  displaying.    A  colony  collects  in  a  small 

VOL.  II,  y  y 


354  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [rook  iv. 

space  every  thing  most  valuable  which  wandering 
man  has  discovered  over  the  whole  surface  of  the 
globe. 

America  is  extremely  rich  in  vegetables  with  nu- 
tritive roots.  After  the  manioc  and  the  papas,  or  po- 
tatoes, there  are  none  more  useful  for  the  subsistence 
of  the  common  people  than  the  oca,  {oxalis  tuberosa,) 
the  batate,  and  the  igname.  The  first  of  these  pro- 
ductions only  grows  in  the  cold  and  temperate  cli- 
mates, on  the  summit  and  declivity  of  the  Cordilleras; 
and  the  two  others  belong  to  the  warm  region  of 
Mexico.  The  Spanish  historians,  who  have  described 
the  discovery  of  America,  confound*  the  words  axes 
and  batates,  though  the  one  means  a  plant  of  the 
group  of  asparagus,  and  the  other  a  convolvulus. 

The  igname,  or  dioscorea  alata,  like  the  banana, 
appears  proper  to  all  the  ecjuinoxial  regions  of  the 
globe.  The  account  of  the  voyage  of  Aloysio  Ca- 
damustof  informs  us  that  this  root  was  known  by 
the  Arabs.  Its  American  name  may  even  throw 
some  light  on  a  very  important  fact  in  the  history  of 
geographical  discoveries,  which  never  appears  hi- 
therto to  have  fixed  the  attention  of  the  learned.  Ca- 
damusto  relates,  that  the  king  of  Portugal  sent  in 
1500  a  fleet  of  12  vessels  round  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope  to  Calcutta  under  the  command  of  Pedro  Aiia- 
res.  This  admiral,  after  having  seen  the  Cape  Verd 
Islands,  discovered  a  great  unknown  land,  which  he 
took  for  a  continent.  He  found  there  naked  men, 
swarthy,  painted  red,  with  very  long  hair,  who  pluck- 
ed out  their  beards,  pierced  their  chins,  slept  in  ham- 
mocks, and  Avcre  entirely  ignorant  of  the  use  of 
metals.  From  these  traits  we  easily  recognise  the 
natives  of  America.     But  what' renders  it  extremely 

*  Gomara,  libra  in.  c.  21. 

t  Cadamusli  navii^rdio  ad  terras  incopiitas,  (GrjMiaeus  orb. 
nov.  p.  47.) 


CHAP.  IX.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  355 

probable  that  Aliares  cither  landed  on  the  coast  of 
Paria  or  on  that  of  Guayana,  is,  that  he  said  he  found 
in  cultivation  there  a  species  of  millet,  (maize,)  and  a 
root  of  which  bread  is  made,  and  which  bears  the 
name  of  igimme.  Vespucci  had  heard  the  same 
word  three  years  before  pronounced  by  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  Coast  of  Paria.  The  Haitian  name  of  the 
dioscorea  alata  is  axes  or  ajes.  It  is  under  this  de- 
nomination that  Columbus  describes  the  igname  in 
the  account  of  his  first  voyage  ;  and  it  is  also  that 
which  it  had  in  the  times  of  Garcilasso,  Acosta,  and 
Oviedo,*  who  have  very  well  indicated  the  charac- 
ters by  which  the  axes  are  distinguished  from  batates. 

The  first  roots  of  the  dioscorea  were  introduced 
into  Portugal  in  1596,  from  the  small  island  of  St. 
Thomas,  situated  near  the '  coast  of  Africa,  almost 
under  the  equator. f  A  vessel  which  brought  slaves 
to  Lisbon  had  embarked  these  ignames  to  serve  for 
food  to  the  negroes  in  their  passage.  From  similar 
circumstances  several  alimentary  plants  of  Guinea 
have  been  introduced  into  the  West  Indies.  They 
have  been  carefully  propagated  for  the  sake  of  fur- 
nishing the  slaves  with  a  diet  to  which  they  have  been 
accustomed  in  their  native  country.  It  is  observed 
that  the  melancholy  of  these  unfortunate  beings  di- 
minishes sensibly  when  they  discover  the  plants 
familiar  to  them  in  their  infancy. 

In  the  warm  regions  of  the  Spanish  colonies  the 
inhabitants  distinguish  the  axe  from  the  namas  of 
Guinea.  The  latter  came  from  the  coast  of  Africa 
to  the  West  Indies,  and  the  name  of  igname  has 
gradually  prevailed  there  over  axe.  These  two  plants 
are  only,  perhaps,  varieties  of  the  dioscorea  alata,  al- 

*  Christojihori  Columbi  navigation  c.  ixxxix.  Comentarios 
Reales,t.'up.278.  Ilistoria  natural  de  Jjidias,Y>- "242.  Oviedo, 
libro  vii.  c.  3. 

t  Clusii  Rariorum  Plantarum  /fii*;.  lib.  iv.  p.  Ixxvii. 


35G  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  iv, 

though  Brown  has  endeavoured  to  elevate  them  to 
the  rank  of  species,  forgetting  that  the  form  of  the 
leaves  of  the  ignaynes  undergoes  a  singular  change 
by  cultivation.  We  have  nowhere  discovered  the 
plant  called  by  Linnaeus  d.  sativa  ;*  neither  does  it 
exist  in  the  islands  of  the  South  Sea,  where  the  root 
of  the  d.  alata,  mixed  with  the  white  of  cocoa- nuts 
and  the  pulp  of  the  banana,  is  the  favourite  dish  of  the 
Olaheitans.  The  root  of  the  igname  acquires  an 
enormous  volume,  when  it  grows  in  a  fertile  soil. 
In  the  valley  of  Aragua,  in  the  province  of  Carac- 
cas,  we  have  seen  it  weigh  from  25  to  30  kilogra^m- 
mes.-j- 

The  batatesjgo  in' Peru  by  the  name  of  apichu,  and 
in  Mexico  by  that  of  camotes^  which  is  a  corruption 
of  the  Aztec  word  cacambticX  Several  varieties  are 
cultivated  with  white  and  yellow  roots ;  those  of  Que- 
retaro,  which  grow  in  a  climate  analogous  to  that  of 
Andalusia,  are  the  most  in  request.  I  doubt  very 
much  if  these  hatates  were  ever  found  wild  by  the 
Spanish  navigators,  though  it  has  been  advanced  by 
Clusius.  I  have  seen  under  cultivation  in  the  colo- 
nies, besides  the  convolvulus  batatas^  the  c.  platani- 
folius  of  Vahl ;  and  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  these 
two  plants,  the  umara  of  Tahiti  [c.  chrysorrhizus  of 
SolanderJ)  and  the  c.  edulis  of  Thunberg,  which  the 
Portuguese  introduced  into  Japan,  are  varieties  be- 

*  Thunberg,  however,  affirms,  that  he  saw  it  cultivated  in 
Japan.  There  exists  a  great  confusion  in  the  dioscorcan  ge- 
nus, and  it  is  to  be  desired  that  a  monography  of  it  should  be 
made.  We  brought  with  us  a  great  number  of  new  species, 
■which  are  partly  described  in  'he  Shecics  P/an?ar?/;7z, publish- 
ed by  M.  Willdenow,  T.  i.  P.  i.  p.  794—796. 

t  From  55  to  66lb.  avoird.      Trans. 

\  The  cacamotic-ilavo(jvi[oni.i  or  raxtlallafwn^  -represented 
in  Hernandez.)  c.  liv.  appears  to  be  the  convolvulus  jalapa. 

^Forstcr  Plantx  Esculcntx,  p.  56. 


CHAP.  IX.]  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SI'AIN.  357 

come  constant,  and  descend  from  tiie  same  species. 
It  would  be  so  much  the  more  interesting  to  know 
whether  the  batates  cultivated  in  Peru,  and  those 
which  Cook  found  in  Easter  Island  (lie  de  Paques) 
are  the  same,  as  from  the  position  of  that  island  and 
the  monuments  which  have  been  there  discovered, 
several  of  the  learned  have  been  led  to  suspect  the 
existence  of  ancient  communications  between  the 
Peruvians  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  island  discover- 
ed by  Roggcween. 

Gomara  relates  that  Columbus,  after  his  return  to 
Spain,  when  he  first  made  his  appearance  before 
Queen  Isabella,  brought  her  grains  of  maize,  igname 
roots,  and  batates.  Hence  the  cultivation  of  the  last 
of  these  must  have^been  already  common  in  the  south- 
ern part  of  Spain  towards  the  middle  of  the  16th  cen- 
tury. In  1591  they  were  even  sold  in  the  market  of 
London.*  It  is  generally  believed  that  the  celebrated 
Drake,  or  Sir  John  Hawkins,  made  them  known  in 
England,  where  they  were  long  thought  to  be  endowed 
with  the  mysterious  properties  for  which  the  Greeks 
recommended  the  onions  of  Megara.  The  cultiva- 
tion of  batates  succeeds  very  well  in  the  south  of 
France.  It  requires  less  heat  than  the  igname,  which 
otherwise,  on  account  of  the  enormous  mass  of  nu- 
tritive matter  furnished  by  its  roots,  would  be  much 
preferable  to  the  potato,  if  it  could  be  successfully 
cultivated  in  countries  of  which  the  mean  tempera- 
ture is  under  18  centigrade  degrees.f 

We  must  also  reckon  among  the  useful  plants 
proper  to  Mexico  the  caco?nite,  or  .ocefoxoc/iiti,  a 
species  of  tigridla,  of  tv^hich  the  root  yielded  a  nutri- 
tive flour  to  tiie  inhabitants  of  the  valley  of  Mexico; 
the  numerous  varieties  of  love  apples,  or  tomatl, 
(solanu7}i  li/cope?'sicu?n,)  which   was  formerly    sown 

*  Cluaius,  iij.  c.  51.  f  64f>  of  Fahrenheit.   Trans. 


358  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  iv. 

along  with  maiz^;  the  earth -pistachio,  or  mani^^  (ara- 
chis  hypogea,)  of  which  the  root  is  concealed  in  the 
earth,  and  which  appears  to  have  existed  in  Cochin 
China t  long  before  the  discovery  of  America ;  lastly, 
the  different  species  of  pimento,  (capsicum  baccatum, 
c.  annimm,  and  c.  frutescens,)  called  by  the  Mexicans 
chilli.,  and  the  Peruvians  mc/zz/,  of  which  the  fruit  is  as 
indispensably  necessary  to  the  natives  as  salt  to  the 
whites.  The  Spaniards  call  pimento  chile  or  axiy 
(ahi.)  The  first  word  is  derived  from  quauh- chilli y 
the  second  is  a  Haitian  word  that  we  must  not  con- 
found M"ith  axe.,  which,  as  we  have  already  observed, 
designates  the  dioscorea  alata. 

I  do  not  remember  to  have  ever  seen  cultivated 
in  any  part  of  the  Spanish  colonies  the  topinambours 
[helianthus  tuberosus,)  which,  according  to  M.  Cor- 
rea,  are  not  even  to  be  found  in  the  Brazils,  though 
in  all  our  works  on  botany  they  are  said  to  be  na- 
tives of  the  country  of  the  Brasilian  Topinambas. 
The  chimalatl.,  or  sun  with  large  flowers,  (helianthus 
annuus,)  came  from  Peru  to  New  Spain.  It  was 
formerly  sown  in  several  parts  of  Spanish  America, 
not  only  to  extract  oil  from  its  seed,  but  also  for  the 
sake  of  roasting  it  and  making  it  into  a  very  nutri- 
tive bread. 

Rice  (oryza  sativa)  was  unknown  to  the  people  of 
the  new  continent,  as  mtII  as  the  inhabitants  of  the 
South  Sea  Islands.  Whenever  the  old  historians  use 
the  expression  small  Peruvian  rice,  (arroz  pequeno^ 
they  mean  the  chenopodium  quinoa.,  which  1  found 
very  common .  in  Peru  and  the  beautiful  v;illey  of 
Bogota.     The  cultivation  of  rice,  introduced  by  the 

*  The  word  mani,  like  the  greatest  part  of  those  piven 
bv  the  Spanish  colonists  to  the  plants  under  cultivation,  is 
taken  from  the  lan'^Udge  of  Haiti,  which  is  now  a  dead  lan- 
guage.    In  Peru  the  arachis  was  called  inchic. 

■\Lo7irciro  Flora  C<jcfnnc/itrien.sis,  p.  522. 

5 


CHAP.  IX.]  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  359 

Arabs  into  Europe,*  and  by  the  Spaniards  into  Ame- 
rica, is  of  very  little  importance  in  New  Spain.  The 
great  drought  \\hich  prevails  in  the  interior  of  the 
country  seems  hostile  to  its  cultivation.  At  Mexi- 
co they  are  not  agreed  as  to  the  utility  with  which 
the  introdtiction  of  the  mountain  rice  might  be  attend- 
ed, which  is  common  to  China,  Japan,  and  known  to 
all  the  Spaniards  who  have  lived  in  the  Philippine 
Islands.  It  is  certain  that  the  mountain  rice,  so  much 
extolled  of  late,  only  grows  on  the  slopes  of  hills, 
which  are  watered  either  by  natural  torrents  or  by 
canals  of  irrigationf  cut  at  very  great  elevations.  On 
the  coast  of  Mexico,  especially  to  the  south- cast  of 
Vera  Cruz,  in  the  fertile  and  marshy  grounds  situated 
between  the  mouths  of  the  rivers  Alvarado  and 
Goasacualco,  the  cultivation  of  the  common  rice 
may  one  day  become  as  important  as  it  has  long  been 
for  the  province  of  Guayaquil,  for  Louisiana,  and 
the  southern  part  of  the  United  States. 

It  is  so  much  the  more  to  be  desired  that  this 
branch  of  agriculture  should  be  followed  with  ardour, 
as  from  the  great  cuoughts  and  premature  frosts  the 
grain  and  maize  harvests  frequently  fail  in  the  moun- 
tainous region,  and  the  Mexican  people  suffer  pe- 
riodically from  the  fatal  effects  of  a  general  famine. 
The  rice  contains  a  great  deal  of  alimentary  sub- 
stance in  a  very  small  volume.  In  Bengal,  where 
40  kilogrammes  may  be  purchased  for  three  francs, + 

*  The  Greeks  knew  rice,  but  did  not  cultivate  it.*  Aristo- 
bulus  apud  Sti-ab.  lib.  xv., /^a^*.  Camub.  1014.  Theojihr.  lib. 
iv.  c.  5.     Dioscor.  lib.  ii.  c.  1 16. /lag.  Sarac.  127. 

t  Crescit  oryza  Japonica  in  collibus  et  montibus  artijido 
si7igulari.  T/u^nbtrg,  Flora  Jafion.  p.  147.  M.  Titziiig,  wlio 
lived  long  in  Japan,  and  who  is  prepaiin.g  an  iutercsling  de- 
scription of  his  (ravels,  also  affirms  that  the  mouniain  rice  is 
watered,  but  that  it  requires  less  water  than  the  rice  of  the 
plains. 

t  881b.  avoird,  for  2s.  Qd.  Trans. 


350  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  iv. 

the  daily  consumption  of  a  family  of  five  individuals 
consists  of  two  kilogrammes  of  rice,  two  of  pease,* 
and  two  ounces  of  salt.f  The  frugality  of  the  indi- 
genous Aztec  is  almost  equal  to  that  of  the  Hindoo ; 
and  the  frequent  scarcities  in  Mexico  might  be 
avoided  by  multiplying  the  objects  of  cultivation, 
and  directing  the  industry  to  vegetable  productions 
easier  to  be  preserved  and  transported  than  maize 
and  farinaceous  roots.  Besides,  and  I  advance  this 
without  encroaching  on  the  famous  problem  of  the 
population  of  China,  it  does  not  appear  doubtful  that 
ground  cultivated  with  rice  maintains  a  much  greater 
number  of  families  than  the  same  extent  under  wheat 
cultivation.  At  Louisiana,  in  the  basin  of  the  Missis- 
sippi.J  they  compute  that  an  acre  of  land  commonly 
produces  in  rice  18  barrels,  in  -wheat  and  oats  8,  in 
maize  20,  and  in  potatoes  26.  In  Virginia  they 
reckon,  according  to  M.  Blodget,  that  an  acre  yields 
from  20  to  30  bushels  of  rice,  while  wheat  only  yields 
from  15  to  16.  I  am  aware,  thiit  in  Europe  rice 
grounds  are  considered  very  pernicious  to  the  health 
of  the  inhabitants;  but  the  long  experience  of  east- 
ern Asia  seems  to  prove  that  the  effect  is  not  the 
same  in  every  climate.  However  this  may  be,  there 
is  little  room  to  fear  that  the  irrif^-ation  of  the  rice 
grounds  will  add  to  the  insalubnl}'  of  a  country  al- 
ready  filled  with  marshes  and paletuvie?'s,  (rhizophora 
mangle,)  which  forms  a  true  delta  between  the  rivers 
Alvarado,  San  Juan,  and  Goasacualco. 

The  Mexicans  now  possess  all  the  garden  stufis 
and  fruit  trees  of  Europe.  It  is  not  easy  to  indicate 
which  of  the  former  existed   in  the  new  continent 

*  4  4-10lb.  rice  and  4  4-lOlb.  pease.     Trans. 

t  Bockffjrd's  hidian  Recreations.     Calcutta,  1807,  p.  13. 

I  MS.  fiotf  on  the  value  of  land  in  Louisiana,  communicated 
to  me  bv  General  Wilkinson. 


CHAP.  IX.]  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  361 

before  tlie  arrival  of  the  Spaniards.  The  same  un- 
certainty prevails  among  botanists  as  to  the  species 
of  turnips,  salads,  and  cabbage  cultivated  by  the 
Greeks  and  Romans.  Wt  know  with  certainty  that 
the  Amei-ic ms  were  alu'ays  acquainted  with  onions, 
(in  Mexican  xonacati,)  haricots,  (in  Mexican  «^aco</i, 
in  the  Peruvian  or  Quichua  language /jwr/i/w,)  gourds, 
(in  Peruvian  capallu,)  and  several  varieties  of  cicer. 
Cortez,''^  speak  mg  of  the  eatables  which  were  daily 
sold  in  the  market  of  the  ancient  Tenochtitlan,  ex- 
yjressly  says,  tliat  every  kind  of  garden  s\.uS {legume) 
\vas  to  be  foimd  there,  particularly  onions,  leeks,  gar- 
lic, garden  and  water  cresses,  {iiuistuerzo  y  herro^ 
borrage,  sorrel,  and  artichokes,  {cardo  y  tagaminas.) 
it  appears  that  no  species  of  cabbage  or  turnip  (bras- 
-sica  et  raphanusj  was  cultivated  in  x'Vmerica,  although 
the  indigenous  are  very  fond  of  dressed  herbs.  They 
mixed  together  all  sorts  of  leaves,  and  even  flowers, 
and  they  called  this  dish  iraca.  It  appears  that  the 
-Mexicans  had  originally  no  pease;  and  this  fact  is  so 
much  the  more  remarkal^le,  as  our  pisum  sativum  is 
believed  to  grow  wild  on  the  north-west  coast  of 
Amcrica.'l; 

In  general,  if  we  consider  the  garden  stuffs  of  the 
Aztecs,  and  the  great  number  of  farinaceous  roots 
cultivated  in  Mexico  and  Peru,  we  see  that  America 

*  Lorcn.zana,  p.  103.  Garcilasso,  p.  278.  and  33G.  Acof-'a, 
p.  245.  Onions  v.crc  unknown  in  Peru,  and  the  chochos  of 
Anieiica  were  not  ihe  g^avavanzos,  (cicer  arielimim.)  I  know 
not  whether  the  famous/r/«o///os  of  Vera  Cruz,  which  have 
become  an  object  of  exportation,  descend  from  a  fihaseolus 
of  Spain,  or  whether  they  are  a  variety  of  the  Mexican  aya- 
cuU. 

t  In  the  Queen  Charlotte  Ishuuls,  and  in  Norfolk  or  Tchin- 
kit'cine  Bay.  Voua'^c  dc  Murchand,  torn.  i.  p.  226.  and  360. 
Were  these  pease  not  sown  there  by  some  European  naviga- 
tor? We  know  that  cabuuges  have  lately  become  wild  in 
New  Zealand. 

VOL.   II.  Z  Z 


362  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  iv. 

was  by  no  means  so  poor  in  alimentary  plants  as  has 
been  advanced  by  some  learned  men  from  a  false 
spirit  of  system,  who  are  only  acquainted  with  the 
new  world  through  the  works  of  Herrera  and  Solis. 
The  degree  of  civilization  of  a  people  has  no  relation 
with  the  variety  of  productions  which  are  the  objects 
of  its  agriculture  or  gardening.  This  variety  is 
greater  or  less  as  the  communications  between  re- 
mote regions  have  been  more  or  less  frequent,  or  as 
nations  separated  from  the  rest  of  the  human  race  in 
very  distant  periods  hiive  been  in  a  situation  of  greater 
or  less  insulation.  We  must  not  be  astonished  at  not 
finding  among  the  Mexicans  of  the  16th  century  the 
vegetable  stores  now  contained  in  our  gardens.  The 
Greeks  and  Romans  even  neither  knew  spinach  nor 
cauliflowers,  nor  scorzoneras,  nor  artichokes,  nor  a 
great  number  of  other  kitchen  vegetables. 

The  central  table- land  of  New  Spain  produces  in 
the  greatest  abundance  cherries,  prunes,  peaches, 
apricots,  figs,  grapes,  melons,  apples,  and  pears.  In 
the  environs  of  Mexico,  the  villages  of  San  Augus- 
tin  de  las  Cuevas  and  Tacubaya,  the  famous  garden 
of  the  convent  of  Carmelites,  at  San  Angel,  and  that 
of  the  family  of  Fagoaga,  at  Tanepantla,  yield  in  the 
months  of  June,  July,  and  August  an  immense 
quantity  of  fruit,  for  the  most  part  of  an  exquisite 
taste,  although  the  trees  are  in  general  very  ill  taken 
care  of.  The  traveller  is  astonished  to  see  in  Mexi- 
co, Peru,  and  New  Granada,  the  tables  of  the  weal- 
thy inhabitants  loaded  at  once  with  the  fruits  of  tem- 
perate Europe,  ananas,*  different  species  of /^a'^^/^ora 

*  The  Spaniards,  in  their  first  navip;a,tions,  were  in  the  cus- 
tom of  embcirkiiiij  ananas,  which,  when  the  passage  was  short, 
Avere  eaten  in  Spain.  They  were  presented  to  Charles  tlic 
Fitth,  who  thought  the  fruit  very  beautiful,  but  would  not 
taste  them.  We  found  the  anaiia  growing  wild,  and  of  the 
most  exquisite  flavour,  at  the  foot  of  the  great  mountain  o 
Duida,  on  the  banks  of  the  Alto  Orinoco.    The  seed  docs  no 


CMAP.  IX.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  Sl'AlN.  3^3 

and  tasconia,  sapotes,  mameis,  goyavas,  anonas,  chi- 
limoyas,  and  odier  valuable  productions  of  the  torrid 
zone.  This  variety  of  fruits  is  to  be  found  in  almost 
all  the  country  from  Guatimala  to  New  California. 
In  studying  the  history  of  the  conquest,  we  admire 
the  extraordinary  rapidity  with  which  the  Spaniards 
of  the  16th  centuf)'  spread  the  cultivation  of  the  Eu- 
ropean vegetables  along  the  ridge  of  the  Cordilleras, 
from  one  extremity  of  the  continent  to  the  other. 
The  ecclesiastics,  and  especially  the  religious  mission- 
aries, contributed  greatly  to  the  rapidity  of  this  pro- 
gress. The  gardens  of  the  convents  and  of  the  se- 
cular priests  were  so  many  nurseries,  from  which  the 
recently  imported  vegetaliles  were  diffused  over  the 
country.  The  conquistador es  even,  all  of  whom  we 
ought  by  no  means  to  regard  as  warlike  barbarians, 
addicted  themselves  in  their  old  age  to  a  rural  life. 
These  simple  men,  surrounded  by  Indians,  of  whose 
language  they  were  ignorant,  cultivated  in  preference, 
as  if  to  console  them  in  their  solitude,  the  plants 
which  recalled  to  them  the  plains  of  Estramadura  and 
the  Castiles.  The  epoqua  at  which  a  European 
fruit  ripened  for  the  first  time  Avas  distinguished  by 
a  family  festival.  It  is  impossible  to  read  without 
being  warmly  affected  what  is  related  by  the  inca 
Garcilasso  as  to  the  manner  of  living  of  these  first 
colonists.  He  relates,  with  an  exquisite  naviete,  how 
his  father,  the  valorous  Andres  de  la  Vega^  collected 
together  all  his  old  companions  in  arms  to  share  with 
him  three  asparaguses,  the  first  which  ever  grew  on 
the  table-land  of  Cuzco. 

Before  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards,  Mexico  and 
the  Cordilleras  of  South  America  produced  several 
fruits,  which  bear  gieat  analogy  to  those  of  the  tem- 

always  miscarry.  In  1594  the  anana  was  cultivated  in  China, 
where  it  had  coir.c  from  Pcsu. — Kircher  China  illustrata. 
p.  188. 


354  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE         [book  iv. 

perate  climates  of  the  old  continent.     The  physiog- 
nomy of  vegciabies  bears  always  a  great  mutual  re- 
semblance where  the  temperature  and  humidity   are 
the  same.     The  mountainous  part  of  South  America 
has  a  cherry,  (padus  capuli,)  nut,  apple,  mulberry, 
strawberry,  rubus,  and  gooseberry,  which  are  pecu- 
liar to  it,  and  which  will  be  made  known  by  M. 
Bonpland  and  myself    in  the  botanical  part  of  our 
travels.     Cortez  relates  that  he  saw,  on  his  arrival  at 
Mexico,  besides  the  indigenous  cherries,  which  are 
very  acid,  prunes,  ciruelas.     He  adds,  that  they  en- 
tirely resemble  those  of  Spain.     I   doubt  the  exist- 
ence of  these  Mexican  prunes,   although  the  Abbe 
Clavigero    also   mentions   them.     Perhaps  the  first 
Spaniards  took   the  fruit  of  the  spondias,  which  is 
a  drupa  ovoide,  for  European  prunes. 

Although  the  western  coast    of   New  Spain   be 
washed  by  the  Great  Ocean,  and  although  Mendana 
Gaetano,  Quiros,  and  other  Spanish  navigators  were 
the  first  who  visited  the  islands   situated  between 
America  and  Asia,  the  most   useful   productions  of 
these   countries,   the   bread  fruit,    the  flax   of   New 
Zealand,  (phormium  tenax,)  and  the  sugar-cane  of 
Otaheite,  remained  unknown  to  the  inhabitants  of 
Mexico.    These  vegetables  after  travelling  round  the 
globe,  will  reach  them  gradually  from  the  West-In- 
dia Islands.     They  were  left  by  Captain  Bligh  at  Ja- 
maica, and  they  have  propagated  rapidly  in  tiie  island 
of  Cuba,  Trinidad,  and  on  the  coast  of  Caraccas. 
The  bread  fruit,  (artocarpus  incisa,)  of  which  I  have 
seen    considerable  plantations  in   Spanish  Guayana, 
would  vegetate  vigorously  on  the  humid  and  \v  arni 
coasts  of  Tabasco,  Tustla,  and  San  Bias.     It  is  very 
improbable  that  this  cuUivation   will   ever  supersede 
among  the  natives   that  of  bananas,   which,  on  the 
same  extent  of  ground,  furnish  more  nutritive   sub- 
stance.      It   is  true   that    the  artocarpus,  for  eight 
iTJonths  in  the  year,  is  continually  loaded  with  fruits. 


CHAP.  IX.]         KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  355 

and  that  three  trees  are  sufficient  to  nourish  an  adult 
individual.*  But  an  arpcnt,  or  dcmi-hectare  of 
ground,  can  only  contain  irom  .35  to  40  bread  iruit 
trees  y\  for  when  they  are  planted  too  near  one  another, 
and  when  their  roots  meet,  they  do  not  bear  so  great 
a  quantity  of  fruit. 

The  extreme  slowness  of  the  passage  from  the 
Philippine  Islands  and  Mariana  to  Acapulco,  and  the 
necessity  which  the  Manilla  galleons  are  under  of 
ascendinsT  to  hio-her  latitudes  to  2;et  the  north-west 
winds,  render  the  introduction  of  ^'egetables  from 
oriental  Asia  extremely  difficult.  Hence,  on  the 
western  coast  of  Mexico  we  find  no  pknt  of  Cliina 
or  the  Philippine  Islands,  except  the  triphasia  awan- 
tiola,  [liinonia  frijbliata^)  an  elegant  shruL^,  of  which 
the  fruits  are  dressed,  and  which,  according  to  Lou- 
reiro,  i^  identical  with  the  citrus  trifoliata,  or  kara- 
tats-banna  of  Kampfer.  As  to  the  orange  and  citron 
trees,  which  in  the  south  of  Europe  support,  without 
any  bad  consequences,  a  cold  for  five  or  six  days  be- 
low 0,J  they  are  now  cultivated  throughout  all  New 
Spain,  even  on  the  central  table-land.  It  has  fre- 
quently been  discussed,  if  these  trees  existed  in  the 
Spanish  colonies  before  the  discovery  of  America,  or 
if  they  were  introduced  by  the  Europeans  from  the 
Canary  Islands,  the  island  of  St.  Thomas,  or  the  coast 
of  Africa.  It  is  certain  that  there  is  an  orange-tree,  of  a 
small  and  bitter  fruit,  and  a  very  prickly  citron,  yield- 
ing a  green  round  fruit,  with  a  singularly  oily  bark, 
which  is  frequently  hardly  of  the  size  of  a  large  nut, 
growing  wild  in  the  island  of  Cuba  and  on  the  coast  of 
Terra  Firma.  But  notwithstanding  ail  my  researches, 

*  Georg-  Forstur  vom  Brocldaiifne,  1784,  s.  xxlii. 

t  See  what  has  aheady  been  said  on  the  connparative  pro- 
duce of  banana,  wheat  and  potatoes,  in  a  preceding-  part  o(" 
this  chapter. 

\  32"  of  Fahrenheit.      Tran.i. 


36(5  POLITICAL  ESSAY  OIS  THE  [.iook  iv. 

I  could  never  discover  a  single  individual  in  the  inte- 
rior of  the  forests  of  Gua3^ana,  between  the  Orinoco, 
the  Casslquiare,  and  the  frontiers  of  Brasil.  Perhaps 
the  small  green  citron  {limoncito  verde)  was  anciently 
cultivated  by  the  natives  ;  and  perhaps  it  has  only 
grown  wild  when  the  poj)ulation,  and  consequently 
the  extent  of  cultivated  territory,  were  most  consider- 
able.  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  only  the  citron 
tree,  with  large  yellov/  fruit,  [I'lmon  siitil,)  and  the 
sweet  orange,  were  introduced  by  the  Portuguese 
and  Spaniards.*  We  only  saw  them  on  the  banks 
of  the  Orinoco,  where  the  Jesuits  had  established 
their  missions.  The  orange,  on  the  discovery  of 
America,  had  only  existed  for  a  few  centuries  even 
in  Europe.  If  there  had  been  any  ancient  communi- 
cation between  the  new  continent  and  the  islands  of 
the  South  Sea,  the  true  cit?'us  aiirantium  might  have 
arrived  in  Peru  or  Mexico  by  the  way  of  the  west ; 
for  this  tree  ^vas  found  by  M.  Forster  in  the  Hebrides 
islands,  where  it  was  seen  by  Quiros  long  before 
him.t 

.  The  great  analogy  between  the  climate  of  the  ta- 
ble-land of  New  Spain  and  that  of  Italy,  Greece, 
and  the  South  of  France,  ought  to  invite  the  Mexi- 
cans to  the  cultivation  of  the  olive.  This  cultivation 
was  successfully  attempted  at  the  beginning  of  the 
conquest,  but  the  government,  from  an  unjust  po- 
licy, far  from  favouring,  endeavoured  rather  indi- 
rectly to  frustrate  it.  As  far  as  I  know  there  exists 
no  formal  prohibition  ;  but  the  colonists  have  never 

*  Ovicdo,  lib.  viii.  c.  I. 

t  Plantic  rsculcntcr  Insularuw  au-ifj-dlimn.  p.  35.  Tlic  r.oni- 
rnon  orange  of  the  South  Sea  is  tlic  citrus  decumana.  The 
garcznzainangonlajiaj  o{  which  the  innumerable  varieties  are 
cultivated  witli  so  much  care  in  the  E?.st  Indies  and  in  the 
Archipelago  of  the  Asiatic  Seas,  is  very  much  dilTused  within 
these  ten  years  in  the  West-India  islands.  It  did  not  exist, 
however,  in  my  time  in  Mexico. 


CHAP.  IX.]  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  267 

ventured  on  a  branch  of  national  industry  which 
would  have  immediately  excited  the  jealousy  of  the 
mother  country.  The  court  of  Madrid  has  always 
seen  with  an  unfavourable  eye  the  cultivation  of  the 
olive  and  the  mulberry,  hemp,  flax,  and  the  vine,  in 
the  new  continent;  and  if  the  commerce  of  wines 
and  indigenous  oils  has  been  tolerated  in  Peru  and 
Chili,  it  is  only  because  those  colonies,  situated  be- 
yond Cape  Horn,  are  frequently  ill  provisioned  from 
Europe,  and  the  effjct  of  vexatious  measures  is 
dreaded  in  provinces  so  remote.  A  system  of  the 
most  odious  prohibitions  has  been  obstinately  follow- 
ed in  all  the  colonies  of  which  the  coast  is  \^•ashcd  by 
the  Atlantic  Ocean.  During  my  stay  at  Mexico,  tlie 
viceroy  received  orders  from  the  court  to  pull  up  the 
vines  {aranca?'  las  cepas)  in  the  northei'ii  provinces  of 
Mexico,  because  the  merchants  pf  Cadiz  complain- 
ed of  a  diminution  in  the  consumption  of  Spanish 
wines.  Happily  this  order,  like  many  others  given 
by  the  ministers,  was  never  executed.  It  was 
judged  that,  notwithstanding  the  extreme  patience  of 
the  Mexican  people,  it  might  be  dangerous  to  drive 
them  to  despair  by  laying  waste  their  properties,  and 
forcing  them  to  purchase  from  the  monopolists  of 
Europe  what  the  bounty  of  nature  produces  on  the 
Mexican  soil. 

The  olive  tree  is  very  rare  in  all  New  Spain  ;  and 
there  exists  but  a  single  olive  plantation,  the  beautiful 
one  of  the  Archbishop  of  Mexico,  situated  two  leagues 
south-east  from  the  capital.  This  oUvar  cklArzobispo 
annually  produces  200  arrobas  (nearly  2,500  kilo- 
grammes'^) of  an  oil  of  a  very  good  qualit)^  We 
have  already  spoken  of  the  olive  cultivated  by  the 
missionaries  of  New  California,  especially  near  the 
village  of  Sim  Diego.  The  Mexican,  when  at  com- 
plete liberty  in  the  cultivation  of  his  soil,  will  in  time 

*  5,500  lb,  avoird.     Tram. 


568  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE        [book  iv. 

dispense  with  the  oil,  wine,  hemp,  and  flax  of  Eu- 
rope. TJie  Andalusian  olive  introduced  by  Cortez 
sometimes  suffers  from  the  cold  of  the  central  table- 
land ;  for  although  the  frosts  are  not  strong,  they  arc 
frequent  and  of  long  duration.  It  might  be  useful  to 
plant  the  Corsican  olive  in  Mexico,  which  is  more 
than  any  other  calculated,  to  resist  the  severity  of  the 
climate. 

In  terminating  the  list  of  alimentary  plants,  wc 
shall  give  a  rapid  survey  of  the  plants  which  furnish 
beverages  to  the  Mexicans.  We  shall  see  that  in 
this  point  of  view  the  history  of  the  Aztec  agriculture 
presents  us  with  a  trait  so  much  the  more  curious,  as 
we  find  nothing  analogous  among  a  great  number  of 
nations  much  more  advanced  in  civilization  than  the 
ancient  inhabitants  of  Anahuac. 

There  hardly  exists  a  tribe  of  savages  on  the  face 
of  the  earth  who  cannot  prepare  some  kind  of  beve- 
rage from  the  vegetable  kingdom.  The  miserable 
hordes  who  wander  in  the  forests  of  Guayana  make 
as  agreeable  emulsions  from  tiie  different  palm-tree 
fruits  as  the  barley  water  prepared  in  Europe.  The 
inhabitants  of  Easter  Island,  exiled  on  a  mass  of  arid 
rocks  v.'ithout  springs,  besides  the  sea  water  drink 
the  juice  of  the  sugar-cane.  The  most  part  of  civili- 
zed nations  draw  their  drinks  from  the  same  plants 
which  constitute  tlie  basis  of  their  nourishment,  and 
of  which  the  roots  or  seeds  contain  the  sugary  prin- 
ciple united  with  the  amylaceous  substance.  Rice 
in  southern  and  eastern  Asia,  in  Africa  the  igname 
root  with  a  few  arums,  and  in  the  north  of  Europe 
cerealia,  furnish  fermented  liquors.  There  are  few 
nations  who  cultivate  certain  pjants  merely  with  a 
view  to  prepare  beverages  from  them.  I'he  old  con- 
tinent affords  us  no  instance  of  vine  plantations  but 
to  the  Avcst  of  the  Indus.  In  the  better  da}-s  of 
Greece  this  cultivation  was  even  confined  to  the 
countries  situated  i^etween  the  Oxus  and  Euphrates, 


i;«Ap.  IX.]  KINGDOM  OP  NEW  SPAIN.  g^ 

to  Asia  Minor  and  western  Europe.  On  the  rest  oi" 
the  globe  nature  produces  species  of  wild  vitis  ;  hut 
nowhere  else  did  man  endeavour  to  collect  them 
round  him  to  ameliorate  them  by  cultivation. 

But  in  the  new  continent  we  ha^'e  the  example  of  ii 
people  who  not  only  extracted  liquors  from  the  amy- 
laceous and  sugary  substance  of  the  maize,  the  ma- 
nioc, and  bananas,  or  from  the  pulp  of  several  spe- 
cies of  mimosa,  but  who  cultivated  expressly  a  plant; 
of  the  family  of  the  ananas,  to  convert  its  juice  into  u 
spirituous  liquor.  On  the  interior  table- land,  in  the 
intenLiancy  of  Puebla,  and  in  that  of  Mexico,  we  nui 
over  vast  extents  of  country,  where  the  eye  re})oses 
only  on  fields  planted  with  pit  res  or  maguey.  This 
plant,  of  a  coriaceous  and  prickly  leaf,  which  with 
the  cactus oountiah^m  become  wild  since  the  sixteenth 
century  throughout  all  the  South  of  Europe,  the 
Canary  Islands,  and  the  coast  of  Africa,  gives  a  par- 
ticular character  to  the  Mexican  landscape.  What 
a  contrast  of  vegetable  forms  between  a  field  of  grain, 
li  plantation  of  agave,  and  a  group  of  bananas,  of 
•which  the  glossy  leaves  are  constantly  of  a  tender  and 
delicate  green !  Under  every  zone,  man,  by  multi- 
plying certain  vegetable  productions,  modifies  at  will 
the  aspect  of  the  country  under  cultivation. 

In  the  Spanish  colonies  there  are  several  species  of 
-maguey  which  deserve  a  careful  examination,  and  of 
v/hich  several,  on  account  of  the  division  of  their  co- 
rolla, the  length  of  their  stamina,  and  the  form  of  their 
stigmata,  appear  to  belong  to  difi'erent  genus  !  The 
maguey  or  metl  cultivated  in  Mexico,  are  numerous 
varieties  of  the  ap-ave  America7ui,  which  has  become 
so  common  in  our  gardens,  with  yellow  fasciculated 
and  straight  leaves,  and  stamina  twice  as  long  as  the 
pinkins:  of  the  corolla.  We  must  not  contbund  this 
metl  with  the  agave  cubensi^^'  of  Jacquin,  (Iloribus  ex 

*  In  the  provinces  of  Ciir.iccas  and  Cumana  the  a,q;$kve  cu» 
VOL.  II.  3  A 


370  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE         [bookiy- 

albo  virentibiis,  longe  paniculatis,  pendulis,  stami-. 
iiibus  corolla  dupio  brevioribus,)  called  by  M.  La- 
marck a.  Mexicana,  and  which  has  been  believed  by 
SGiTie  botanists,  for  what  reason  I  know  not,  the 
principal  object  of  the  Mexican  cultivation. 

The  plantations  of  the  maguey  de pulque  extend  as 
far  as  the  Aztec  language.  The  people  of  the  Oto- 
tnite,  Totonac,  and  Mistec  race,  are  not  addicted  to 
the  octU,  which  the  Spaniards  call  pulque.  On  the 
central  plain  we  hardly  find  the  maguey  cultivated  to 
the  north  of  Salamanca.  The  finest  cultivations  which 
I  have  had  occasion  to  see  arc  in  the  valley  of  Toluca 
and  on  the  plains  of  Cholula.  The  agaves  are  there 
planted  in  rows  at  a  distance  of  15  decimetres*  from 
one  another.  The  plants  only  begin  to  yield  the 
juice  which  goes  by  the  name  o^  honey,  on  account 
of  the  sugary  principle  with  which  they  abound,  when 
the  hampe  is  on  the  point  of  its  development.  It  is 
on  this  account  of  the  greatest  importance  for  the  cul- 
tivator to  know  exactly  the  period  of  efilorescence. 
Its  proximity  is  announced  by  the  direction  of  the 
radical  leaves,  which  are  observed  by  the  Indians 
with  much  attention.  These  leaves,  which  are  till 
then  inclined  towards  the  earth,  rise  all  of  a  sudden ; 
and  they  endeavour  to  form  a  junction  to  cover  the 
kampc  which  is  on  the  point  of  formation.  The 
bundle  of  central  leaves  {el  corazon)  becom^es  at  the 
same  time  of  a  clearer  green,  and  lengthens  percep- 
tibly. I  have  been  informed  by  the  Indians  that  it  is 
difficult  to  be  deceived  in  these  signs,  but  that  there 
are  others  of  no  less  importance  which  cannot  be 
precisely  described,  because  they  have  merely  a  rc- 

bcnsis  (a.  odornta   Pcrsooi\)  is  called   /na^'z^ft/    de    Cocuy.     I 
have  seen  stocks  (iiampcs)  loadeil  with  flowers  from  12  to  14 
jnetres  in  height,  (from  38  to  45  English  feet.)    At  Caracca'- 
he  a,^ave  <,lmcric<iiia  is  called  inuguey  dc  Cocuizet. 

*  58  ir.chcs.     Trans. 


CBAP.  IX.]  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  371 

fcrcnce  to  the  carri^ij^c  of  the  plant.  The  cultivator 
Cjoes  daily  through  his  ng:u  c  plantations  to  mark  those 
plants  which  approach  efflorescence.  If  he  has  any 
doubt,  he  applies  to  the  experts  of  the  village,  (Id 
Indians,  who,  from  long  experience,  have  a  judg- 
ment or  rather  tact  more  securely  to  be  relied  on. 

Near  Cholula,  and  between  Toluca  and  Cacanu- 
rnacan,  a  maguey  of  eight  yeais  old  gives  already 
signs  of  the  development  of  its  liampe.  They  then 
begin  to  collect  the  juice,  of  which  \\m:  pulque  is 
made.  They  cut  the  corazon^  or  bundle  of  central 
leaves,  and  enlarge  insensibly  the  wound,  and  cover 
it  with  lateral  leaves,  which  they  raise  up  by  drawing 
them  close,  and  tying  them  to  the  extremities.  h\ 
this  wound  the  vessels  appear  to  deposit  all  the  juice 
which  would  have  formed  the  colossal  hanipe  loaded 
M'ith  flowers.  This  is  a  true  vegetable  spring,  which 
keeps  running  for  two  or  three  months,  and  from 
which  the  Indian  draws  three  or  four  times  a  day. 
We  may  judge  of  the  quickness  or  slowness  of  the 
motion  of  the  juice  by  the  quantity  of //one?/ extract- 
ed from  the  maguey  at  different  times  of  the  day.  A 
foot  commonly  yields,  in  twenty- four  hours,  four 
cubic  decimetres,  or  200  cubic  inches,*  equal  to 
eight  quarfillos.  Of  this  total  quantity  they  obtaiii 
thret  nuartillos  at  sunrise,  two  at  middav,  and  three 
at  six  in  the  evening.  A  very  vigorous  plant  some- 
times  yields  15  quartillos,  or  375  cubic  inchesf  per 
day,  for  from  four  to  five  months,  which  amounts  to 
the  enormous  volume  of  more  than  1,100  cubic  de- 
cimetres. J  This  abundance  of  juice  produced  by  a 
maguey  of  scarcely  a  metre  and  a  half  in  height)  is  so 
much  the  more  astonishing,  as  the  agave  plantations 

*  242  cubic  irxhes  English.     Trans. 

t  454  cubic  inches.      Trans. 

I  67,130  cubic  inches.     Trana,         ^4  9-infrct,      Trana 


37^  POLrriCAL  ESSAV  ON  THE  [book  iv, 

are  in  the  most  arid  grounds,  and  frequently  on  banks 
of  rocks  hardly  covered  with  vegetable  earth.  The 
value  of  a  maguey  plant  near  its  efflorescence  is  at 
Pachuca  five  piastres,*  or  25  francs.  In  a  barren  soil 
the  Indian  calculates  the  produce  of  each  maguey  at 
150  bottles,  and  the  value  of  the  pulque  furnished  in 
a  day  at  from  10  to  12  sols.  The  produce  is  unequal, 
like  that  of  the  vine,  which  varies  very  much  in  its- 
quantity  of  grapes.  I  have  already  mentioned  the 
case  of  an  Indian  woman  of  Cholula  who  bequeathed 
to  her  children  maguey  plantations  valued  at  70  or  80 
thousand  piastres. 

I'he  cultivation  of  the  agave  has  real  advantages 
over  the  cultivation  of  maize,  grain,  and  potatoes. 
This  plant,  with  firm  and  vigorous  leaves,  is  neither 
affected  by  drought  nor  hail,  nor  the  excessive  cold 
which  prevails  in  winter  on  the  higher  Cordilleras  of 
Mexico.  The  stalk  perishes  after  efflorescence.  If 
•^ve  deprive  it  of  the  central  leaves,  it  withers,  after 
the  juice  which  nature  appears  to  have  destined  to  the 
increase  of  the  h-.mpe  is  entirely  exhausted.  An  in- 
finity of  shoots  then  spring  from  the  root  of  the  decay, 
ed  plant ;  for  no  plant  multiplies  with  greater  facility. 
An  arpent  of  ground  contains  from  12  to  13  hundred 
maguey  plants.  If  the  field  is  of  old  cultivation,  we 
mav  calculate  that  a  twelfth  or  fourteenth  of  these 
plants  yield  hojiey  annually.  A  proprietor  who  plants 
from  30  to  40,000  maguey  is  sure  to  establish  the 
fortune  of  his  children  ;  but  it  requires  patience  and 
courage  to  follow  a  species  of  cultivation  which  only 
begins  to  grow  lucrative  at  the  end  of  fifteen  years. 
In  a  good  soil  the  agave  enters  on  its  efflorescence  at 
the  end  of  five  years;  and  in  a  poor  soil  no  harvest 
can  be  expected  in  less  than  18  years.  Although 
the  rapidity  of  the  vegetation  is  of  the  utmost  conse- 

*  5  piastres  =  1/.  2s.  id.     Trans. 


CHAP.  IX.]        KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  373 

quence  for  the  Mexican  cultivators,  they  never  at- 
tempt artificially  to  accL'lcrati  the  development 
of  the  hampe  by  mutilating  the  roots  or  watering 
them  with  warm  water.  It  has  been  discover- 
ed that  by  these  means,  which  weaken  the  |:)lant, 
ihe  confluence  of  juice  towards  the  centre  is 
sensibly  diminished.  A  maguei/  plant  is  destroyed 
if,  misled  by  false  appearances,  the  Indian  makes  the 
incision  long  before  the  flowers  would  have  naturally 
developed  themselves. 

The  honey  or  juice  of  the  agave  is  of  a  ver}'^  agree- 
able sour  taste.  It  easily  ferments,  on  account  of 
the  sugar  and  mucilage  which  it  contains.  To  ac- 
celerate this  fermentation  they  add,  however,  a  little 
old  and  acid  pulque.  The  operation  is  terminated 
in  three  or  four  days.  The  vinous  beverage,  which 
resembles  cyder,  has  an  odour  of  putrid  meat  ex- 
tremely disagreeable  ;  but  the  Europeans  who  have 
been  able  to  get  over  the  aversion  which  tiiis  fetid 
odour  inspires,  prefer  the  pulque  to  every  other  liquor. 
They  consider  it  as  stomachic,  strengthening,  an^l 
especially  as  very  nutritive  ;  and  it  is  recommended 
to  lean  persons.  I  have  seen  whites  who,  like  the 
Mexican  Indians,  totally  abstained  from  water,  beer, 
and  wine,  and  drunk  no  other  liquor  than  the  juice 
of  the  agave.  The  connoisseurs  speak  with  enthu- 
siasm of  the  pulque  prepared  in  the  village  of  Hoco- 
titlan,  situated  to  the  north  of  Toluca,  at  the  foot  of 
a  mountain  almost  as  elevated  as  the  Nevacjo  of  this 
name.  They  affirm  that  the  excellent  quality  of  this 
pulque  does  not  altogether  depend  on  the  art  with 
which  the  liquor  is  prepared,  but  also  on  a  taste  of 
the  soil  communicated  to  the  juice  according  to  the 
fields  in  which  the  plant  is  cultivated.  There  arc 
plantations  of  maguey  near  Hocotitlan  (Jiacicnfhs  dc 
pulque)  which    bring  in  annually  more  than  40,(X)() 


v)/' 


POLITICAL  ESSVY  ON  THE  [sooKrr. 


livres.*  The  inhabiiants  of  the  countiy  differ  very 
■much  in  their  opinions  as  to  the  true  cause  of  the 
fetid  odour  of  the  pulque.  It  is  generally  affirmed 
that  this  odour,  which  rs  analos:oas  to  that  of  animal 
matter,  is  to  be  ascribed  to  the  skins  in  which  the 
first  juice  of  the  agave  is  poured.  But  several  well 
informed  individuals  pretend  that  the  pulque  when 
prepared  hi  vessels  has  the  same  odour,  and  thnt  if  it 
is  not  found  in  that  of  Toluca,  it  is  because  the  great 
coki  there  modifies  the  process  of  fermentation; 
I  oi)ly  kne«.v  of  this  opinion  at  the  period  of  my  de- 
parture from  Mexico,  so  that  I  have  to  regret  that  I 
could  not  clear  up  by  direct  experiments  this  curious 
point  in  vegetable  chemistry.  Perhaps  this  odour 
proceeds  from  the  decomposition  of  a  vegeto-animai 
matter,  analccrous  to  the  pj-luten  contained  in  the 
juice  of  th^  agave. 

The  cultivation  of  the  maguey  is  an  object  of  such 
importance  for  the  revenue,  that  the  entry  duties 
pq,id  in  the  three  cities  of  Mexico,  Toluca,  and 
Puebla  amounted,  in  1793,  to  the  sum  of  817,739 
piastres. t  The  expenses  of  perception  were  then 
56,608  piastres  ;4:  so  that  the  government  drev/  from 
the  agave  juice  a  net  revenue  of  761,131  piastres,^  or 
more  than  3,800,000  francs.  The  desire  of  increas- 
ing the  revenues  of  the  crown  occasioned  latterly  a 
heavy  tax  on  the  iabrication  of  pulque,  equally  vexa- 
tious '.md  inconsiderate.  It  is  time  to  change  the 
system  m  this  respect,  otherwise  it  is  to  be  presumed 
that  this  cultivation,  one  of  the  most  ancient  and  lu- 
crative, will  insensibly  decline,  notwithstanding  the 
decided  predilection  of  the  people  for  the  fermented 
juice  of  the  agave. 

A  very  intoxicating  brandy  is  formed    from  the 

*  1,66G/.  sterlinj^.      Trans. 

t  178  880/.  sterling.   Trans. 

^  12,383/.  sterlinj^.  §  166,497/.      Tra.n£. 


<iiiAP-  IK]  KIMGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  375 

pulque,  which  is  called  mexical,  or  aj:^-uarcliaite  dc 
maguey.  I  have  been  asbuied  that  die  piaut  ciiiliva- 
tcd  for  distillation  differs  essentially  from  the  com- 
mon maiijuev,  or  maguey  de pulque.  It  appeared  to 
ine  smaller,  and  to  have  the  leaves  not  so  glaucous ; 
but  not  havin[^  seen  it  in  flower  I  cannot  judj^e  of  the 
difference  between  the  two  species.  Tlie  sugar-cane 
lias  also  a  particular  variety,  with  a  yiolct  stalk,  which 
came  from  the  coast  of  Africa,  [cana  de  Guineay)  and 
which  is  preferred  in  the  province  of  Caraccas  for 
the  f4bricution  of  rum  to  tbx  sugar-cane  of  Otaheitc. 
The  Spanish  government,  and  particulaily  the  real 
hacienda,  has  been  long  very  severe  against  the 
mexical^  which  is  strictly  prohibited,  because  the  use 
of  it  is  prejudicial  to  the  Spanish  brandy  trade.  An 
enormous  quantity,  however,  of  this  maguey  brandy 
is  manufactured  in  the  intendancies  of  Valiadolid, 
Mexico,  and  Durango,  especially  in  the  new  king. 
dom  of  Leon.  We  may  judge  of  the  vulue  of  this 
illicit  traffic  by  considering  the  disproportion  between 
the  population  of  Mexico  and  the  annual  importation 
of  European  brandy  into  Vera  Cruz.  The  \vhole 
importation  only  amounts  to  32,000  barrels  I  In 
several  parts  of  the  kingdom,  for  example  in  the 
provincias  internas  and  the  district  of  Tux  pan,  be- 
longing to  the  intendancy  of  Guadalaxara,  for  some 
time  past  the  mcxlcal  has  been  publicly  sold  on  pay- 
ment of  a  small  duty.  This  measure,  which  ought 
to  be  general,  has  been  both  profitable  to  the  revenue, 
and  has  put  an  end  to  the  complaints  of  the  inhabit- 
ants. 

But  the  maguey  is  not  only  the  vine  of  tlte 
Aztecs,  it  can  also  supply  the  place  of  the  lieni;) 
of  Asia,  and  the  pap}rus  (cyperus  paiivrus)  of 
the  Egyptians.  The  paper  on  which  the  ancient 
Mexicans  painted  their  heiroglyphical  figures  was 
made  of  the  Hbres  of  agave  leaves,  macerated  in  wa- 
ter, and  disposed  \n    huers   like  the  fibres  of  tlie- 


376  POLITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  [book  iv. 

Egyptian  cyperus,  and  the  mulberry  {broiissonetid) 
of  the  South  Sea  Islands.  I  brought  with  me  several 
fn.gments  of  Aztec  manuscripts*  written  on  maguey 
paper,  of  a  thickness  so  different  that  some  of  them 
resemble  pasteboard,  while  others  resemble  Chinese 
paper.  These  fragments  arc  so  much  the  more  intc- 
rei^:ii<g  as  the  only  hieroglyphics  which  exist  at  Vi- 
en>:«iu  Rome,  and  Veletri,  are  on  Mexican  stag  skins. 
The  twrtdd  which  is  obtained  from  the  maguey  is 
known  in  Europe  by  the  name  of  pite  thread,  i\nd  it  is 
pr 'lerred  by  naturalists  to  every  other,  because  it  b 
less  subject  to  twist.  It  does  not,  however,  resist  so 
weil  as  that  prepared  from  the  fibres  of  the  phor- 
mium.  The  juice  {xugo  de  cocuyzd)  which  the 
agave  yields  when  it  is  still  far  from  the  period  of 
efiiorescence  is  very  acrid,  and  is  successfully  em- 
ployed as  a  caustic  in  the  cleaning  of  wounds.  The 
prickles  which  terminate  the  leaves  served  formerly, 
like  those  of  the  cactus,  for  pins  and  nails  to  the 
Indians.  The  Mexican  priests  pierced  their  arms 
and  breasts  with  them  in  their  acts  of  expiation  ana- 
logous to  those  of  the  buddistsof  Hindostan. 

We  may  conclude  from  all  that  we  have  related 
respecting  the  use  of  the  different  parts  of  the  maguey, 
that  next  to  the  maize  and  potato,  this  plant  is  the 
most  useful  of  all  the  productions  with  which  nature 
has  supplied  the  mountaineers  of  equinoxial  Ame- 
rica. 

When  the  fetters  which  the  government  has 
hitherto  put  on  several  branches  of  the  national  indus- 
try shall  be  removed,  when  the  Mexican  agriculture 
shall  be  no  longer  restrained  by  a  system  of  adminis- 
tration which,  v/hile  it  impoverishes  the  colonics, 
does  not  enrich  the  mother  country,  the  maguey 
plantations  a\  ill  be  gradually  succeeded  by  vineyards. 
The  cultivation  of  the  vine  will  augment  with  the 
number  of  the  whites,  who  consume  a  great  quan- 

*   Sec  cbap.vi.  vol.i.  p.  124. 


CHAP.  IX.]  KINGDOM  OF  NEW  SPAIN.  377 

tity  of  the  wines  of  Spain,  France,  Madeira  and  the 
Canary  Islands.     But  in  the  present  state  of  things, 
the  vine  can  hardly  be  included  in  the  territorial  riches 
of  Mexico,  the  harvest  of  it  being  so  inconsiderable. 
The  grape  of  the  best  quality  is  that  of  Zapotitlan,  in 
the  intendancy  of  Oaxaca.    There  are  also  vineyards 
near  Dolores  and  San  Luis  de  la  Paz  to  the  north  of 
Guanaxuato,  and    in    the   provincias   internas   near 
Pan-as,  and  the  Passo  del  Norte.     The  wine  of  the 
Passo  is  in   great  estimation,  especially  that  of  the 
estate  of  the  Marquis  de  San  Miguel,  which  keeps 
for  a  great  number  of  years,  although  very  little  care 
is  bestowed  on  the  making  of  it.     They  complain 
in  the  country  that  the  must  of  the  table-land  ferments 
with  difficulty ;  and  they  add  arope  to  the  juice  of 
the  grape,  that  is  to  say,  a  small  quantity  of  wine  in 
which  sugar  has  been  infused,  and  which  by  means 
of  dressing  has  been  reduced  into  a  syrup.     This 
process  gives  to  the  Mexican  wines  a  flavour  of  must 
which  they  would  lose  if  the  making  of  wine  was 
more  studied  among  them.     When  in  the  course  of 
ages  the  new  continent,  jealous  of  its  independence,  - 
shall  wish  to  dispense  with  the  productions  of  the  old, 
the    mountainous  and  temperate  parts  of  Mexico, 
Guatimala,  New  Granada,  and  Caraccas,  will  sup- 
ply v/inc  to  the  whole  of  north  America ;  and  they 
will  riien  become  to  that  counti)'  what  France,  Italy, 
and  Spain  have  long  been  to  the  north  of  Europe. 


FA"D  OF  VOL.  II. 


VOL.  II.  3  B 


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